Will God Punish Us?

 Posted by at 10:31 am  Politics, Religion
Nov 252012
 

From the perspective of the Theocon wing of the Republican Party, those Republicans who swear by their Constitutions, while completely ignoring them, America has committed a mortal sin.  We have elected a Kenyan, Communist, Atheist, Socialist, Nazi, Muslim, who has abandoned God, to serve a second term as President.

25GOPJesusSomeday someone will perhaps be able to adequately explain to me why it is that religious conservatives (esp.  southern religious conservatives, cough) see Barack Obama as such an existential threat to them and their particular version of Christianity.

[Rev. Franklin] Graham [(yes, that one)] equated the Obama years with a national rejection of God. "In the last four years, we have begun to turn our backs on God," he said. "We have taken God out of our education system. We have taken him out of government. You have lawyers that sue you every time you mention the name of Jesus Christ in any kind of a public forum."

As far as I know, President Barack Obama has done exactly jack-all in any of these areas. Graham and the other mega-evangelicals are quite certain that there is a war taking place on all these fronts; they are equally certain that it started four years ago, when President Scary Black Man took the reins from President Unmentionable. The only serious religious war I can recall taking place in those years was, of course, the new premise that if employers can’t pick-and-choose employees’ medical care it would be an abomination unto the pope, but that one was tenuous from day one, and isn’t what the popeless Graham is talking about here. He’s talking about "taking God out" of education, and government, and people getting sued for saying Jesus in public, and it almost makes you wonder if the junior Graham’s visions of what’s been going on the last four years is perhaps more linked with all these pro-marijuana laws that keep passing.

That aside, haven’t we done very well at doing all the good and proper Christian things, in the last decade? We’ve gone to extra effort to make sure poor people get as little as damn possible, even in times of severe hardship, which is pretty much what Jesus said if I understand these things right. We’ve continually won the battle to make sure rich people are just plain recognized as our betters, and are treated as such. And the false witnessing alone—hoo boy, don’t get me started… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Now, Barack Obama is not Kenyan, Communist, Atheist, Socialist, Nazi or Muslim, even though I have seen Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians make all these claims.  Furthermore, he has not turned his back on God.  In fact, he has expanded support for faith-based community service, begun under GW Bush.  What he has done is to oppose Republican attempts to force extreme piety codes onto women.  He has also had the audacity to govern while black.

Barack Obama’s economic policies mesh quite well with Jesus’ example and teaching, while Republican Supply-side pseudo Christians have abandoned both completely, making them the ones that have rejected authentic Christianity in favor of Old Testament religious legalism.

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  25 Responses to “Will God Punish Us?”

  1. President Obama's ministry is a prophetic one- We all know what happened to the Prophets now do we not ?
    The Pseudo Christians are just that- Phoney as a $3 bill !

  2. Reich-wing "Christians" are hilarious! With a straight face & a forked tongue they preach Old Testament fire & brimstone (the Judeo part of Judeo-Christian religion) & embrace Sharia Laws for women while demonizing Islam… their's is a special Unbalanced balancing act & only they hear hear those self-fulfilling prophecies of damnation! Jesus should come back & slap the $hit out of every last one of 'em!

  3. Those puesdo Christains really piss me off. Especially the ones on TV that take money from people that don't have it because they are afraid they won't get into Heaven.  What if there isn't a Heaven?  Then they are all fucked.

    • But, they think they have paid their dues because some charlatan told them that's the way it is.
       
      Sad state of affairs!

    • Patty is right.  The televangelists are expert at guilt trips through they make vulnerable people believe that, if they don't give, they don't love Jesus and greedy people believe that if the do give, God will give them, more back.

  4. Franklin –
     
    Surely, any God would be most displeased – or at least disappointed – in so many like you who call themselves “Christians”.
    Please be so kind as to cite a Biblical passage that admonishes us to acquire great fortunes …
    Or one that directs us to refuse aid to those in pain, even if they have no means to pay for it …
    Or one that directs us to feast while others hunger, even if they have no means to pay for it …
    Or one that directs us to deny healing to those infirmed, even if they have no means to pay for it …
     
    Franklin, I can’t believe you’ve not come across Matthew 25:35-40 at least once in your hate-filled life:
     

    35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
    36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
    37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
    38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
    39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
    40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

     
    But who am I to intercede when Pres. Obama has so eloquently answered those mendacious accusations:
     

    "You know, there's not much I can do about it," Obama said in the interview. "I have a job to do as president, and that does not involve convincing folks that my faith in Jesus is legitimate and real. I do my best to live out my faith, and stay in the Word, and to make my life look more like His."

    • Nameless – you've done it again – Matthew 25 35 – 40 is an underlying tenet of most real Christians' faith.  And I do so agree – NONE of the Tea Party or the GOP seem to have ever heard of it!

      • They only believe in what suits their purpose and makes them rich. The sheople will follow because of their ignorance and fear.

    • Nameless, that is exactly my point when I said that they have abandoned Jesus' teaching and example.  Thanks!

  5. I have watched the Grahams over the years, and have seen them change their views (and web page) to suck up to certain people (they wiped their page down from calling Mormons a cult when they decided to back Mittons—and before that, at least Franklin was going to back Trump. I even saw where Franklin was going on wishing Falwell was still here on earth.  Remember him.  And I won't even go into what I think of the TV slimeball preachers——-I don't think we need to worry aboutl meeting them in heaven—–
    Several years back, because of the Franklin Graham's cause,  Samaritian's Purse, I had put SP in my will.  Today, I can tell you, if I have a penny when I go, nothing and nobody associated with the Grahams will get that penny. 
    I am going to give you a very interesting link, from 2009, but it is worth a read. 
    hxxp://online.wsj.com/article/SB123215076308292139.html [Murdoch delinked]
     
    Have a good week, all, that means you too, TC.  And you can tell what re-run I watch when I finish with my favorite saying———–  "BE CAREFUL OUT THERE"—loved that show–
    Love and Light and Blessings to all
    xoxox
    Gypsy
     
     

    • Thanks Gypsy.  I edited your link, because we don't give Rupert Murdoch linkey love, but anyone can still find it by changing the hxxp: to http:

      • Wasn't thinking of Murdock—I thought this was a good article about swearing in of the presidents back to Truman. I enjoyed it and wanted to share. Apologize for your trouble, TC.

        • No trouble at all, Gypsy.  I agree that it was a good article and I'm glad you shared it.  I just edited it so that a Murdock paper would not benefit from a link here.

  6. I am a practising Christian (I haven't got it right yet so I keep practising!) and I will not ram my faith nor religion — yes they are different — down some one's throat saying you must believe this.  I do not appreciate others trying to ram their religion down my throat.  And I'll bet that that is part of the reason that the founding fathers separated church and state in the constitution — they came mostly from Britain where there was great dissent between Catholics and Protestants, between Church of England and Puritans.  At various times in the 16th century, people lost their lives because they were the wrong religion.
     
    One of the two greatest of Christian commandments is to love your neighbour as yourself.  But that is certainly not what I see from the Republican/Teabagger right wingnut evangelicals, the Supply-side Pseudo Christians, who wage war on the poor, war on women, war on minorities, war on the LGBT community, war on children.  To me, these pseudo Christians are like a plastic bobble-head Jesus mounted on the car dash.  Thank you Nameless for bringing up Matthew 25.  Because it is one of several favourites of mine, I have reprinted it.

    35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
    36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
    37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
    38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
    39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
    40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

    Do you recognise any of this in the Republican/Teabagger party platform from the recent election?  Do you recognise any of this from Paul Ryan's proposed budget?  I certainly don't!
     
    In Gypsy's link (Thanks Gypsy), the following:

    Part of the evangelical identity, increasingly, was a pugnacious sense that they were being persecuted and should not be cowed into suppressing their faith. "I knew stating that there is no other Name by which an individual can be saved grate on some ears and prick some hearts," Franklin Graham wrote about his inaugural prayer in his book, "The Name." "However, as a minister of the gospel, I was not there to stroke the egos of men. My role was to acknowledge the all powerful One and please Him….I want to please my Father in heaven no matter the cost." The country's growing religious diversity left evangelical Protestants feeling more defensive and inclined to strut their theological stuff.

    So these evangelicals felt they were being persecuted, became more defensive, and turned around and started doing the persecuting — demanding that their way, regardless whether others felt the same way or not, be the law of the land, the moral compass if you like.  As such, it is an exclusive stand that has no room for Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, Animism or whatever faith someone has chosen to follow.  But in my opinion, it is not true to the real Christianity, nor is it in keeping with the constitution.
     
    One does not have to be religious, or a Christian to be a good person.  A good person, in my opinion, will be a brother or sister to his neighbour, loving that neighbour, seeking justice, showing compassion and mercy to that neighbour.
     
    Will God punish us?  That I believe, as a person of faith, is a personal question that each must wrestle with in their own way.  For an atheist, I believe that is a question of the individual conscience.
     
    I have to say that the picture reminds me of a skit by Mike Warnke where he talks about driving down the highway near Brownsville Texas with a plastic bobble-head Jesus on the dash and the windshield wipers keeping time to some music.

    • Thanks Lynn, you have summarized most of what I believe.  On long term rewards and or punishment, if any, I believe that God bases it on the authenticity of faith in any belief system, including the atheist faith, and by the manner in which we give of ourselves.  But that's my belief.  Nobody has to accept it.

    • Thanks Lynn—you truly sort it all out–kudos to you. 

  7. These so-called 'Kristians' believe in the 'Prosperity Doctrine', that's the only thing they believe……and all of the OLD Testiment…..which makes of them Jews, not Christians. Does a 'God' exist? I dunno….guess I will find out after I leave this life. Until then, I need no doctrine to live my life other than my own moral code and knowing what is right and what is wrong. I do know that what these supply-side Kristians are selling is snake oil to the highest bidders and the Law of Karma will come calling on them eventually. I just hang around to see that happen.  :>) 

  8. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown-Fire (1968)
    http://youtu.be/vCTaxGhRC5M
    My song to the Republican/Tea-Bags….

  9. Unless YOU’RE (I’m over 40)

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