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Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by Fintan, Mar 5, 2011.

  1. Fintan

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    Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus
    By Phil Zuckerman
    The Huffington Post

    Ok, so the title of the article is WAY over the top. However, the author makes some good points from the outside looking in. I think it is long over due that the majority of Christians who are traditional and mainstream need to make their voices heard so that our faith is not branded by the 'independent' one-of-a-kind Evangelical Churches in the US South that have big, loud, hateful mouths. Mainstream Christians might have message of love rather than hate, which the media is less interested in, but there must be a way for cooler heads to prevail.
     
  2. Emberstone

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    I wouldn't say that the title is way over the top, myself. It is honest.

    This is the state of the world. Look at republicanisem. They will shout out loud about 'small goverment' this, and 'small goverment' that, but if you look at the policies put forth by the republican party in the last 40 years, on the federal level, and throughout most all of the states (wyoming, shockingly, is proving to be the only state that actually has a small goverment majority, and they are fighting the big goverment republicans and winning recently), all that exists is big goverment republicans.

    People like to claim to live up to a ideal. They proclaim themselves small goverment conservatives, or christians living in the teachings of jesus christ... but the claim is not met with action. When the chips are on the table, jesus is not in the picture, and goverment is expanded like no ones buisness.

    It is the very disingenuious nature of the far right that has both taken over christanity, and in the last thirty years, the republican party.
     
  3. Pseudojim

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    i'd replace 'hate' with 'ignore'... otherwise it's just a little too combative?

    But on topic, evangelism is such a charisma-based art that it lends itself to being dominated by persons who end up being small-scale dictators.

    Not all evangelists are evil, of course... many i'm sure are just enthusiastic while being totally benevolent. But power often corrupts, and many become egomaniacal in their positions of power, and there's nothing an egomaniac loves to do more than proselytise his own doctrine, regardless of what jesus said.

    Some of the worse examples do it for profit.

    If you want to read about how extreme this can become, look no further than Peter Popoff, who has sold 'miracle holy water' supposedly sourced from a magic pool in chernobyl from which animals drink and gain immunity to radiation sickness, as well as used a complicated radio system in co-operation with his wife to make it look as though he had supernatural powers of divining, all for his own benefit (he is now a millionaire with several properties and luxury/sports vehicles)
     
    #3 Pseudojim, Mar 5, 2011
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2011
  4. Pseudojim

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    in the post above, take 'evangelist' to mean 'evangelist preacher'.
     
  5. RedState

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    Not to over invoke the name of this article but Jesus Christ. I would highly recommend that you have a drink and loosen up a bit.
    God love ya, but if someone in the radical left leadership said the sun rose in the West you would embark on one of your epic tantrums about how it was so and how the Republicans are going to destroy the planet and how it is part of their homophobic agenda because the Republicans stated that the sun rose in the East.

    Still love ya..but gimme a break
     
  6. zeratul

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    I think this is an appropriate dissemination of the radical evangelical base.
     
  7. Emberstone

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    I notice you didnt challange my statements... just made assumptions and attacks against me.

    The fact is that when push comes to shove, republicans are big goverment. history repeatedly lays that out bare for all to see.

    Smaller goverment doesnt work if the problems that require large goverment are not addressed first. The real problem is that no one, it seems, wants to address those systemic problems about society itself... ironic, jesus tried too... now the evangelicals are preaching a contradictory gospel... and the right wing of american politics is taking up that contradiction, and running with it.
     
  8. Pseudojim

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    boys, boys! You can both marry me! :icon_wink

    what's this got to do with politics anyway?
     
  9. Emberstone

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    in america, it is hard to untangle evangelical christianity, fundementalist evangelical christanity, and the republican party. they have become some intermingled that the lines are blurred to the point that they cannot be seperated.

    That is why after promising to focus on jobs, the republicans have been focused on abortion, and defending DOMA, and whining about imaginary socialisem (which ironicly, by the republican definition of socialisem, jesus christ is king socialist of all the universe.)

    the contradictions agianst christ that evangelicals follow are deeply rooted and completely entangled in the politics of the republican party. Jesus calls us to care about the poor and the sick, and declares that wealthy is a deteriment to living a god-focused life, and therefore, being rich doesnt make you a better or more worthy person... republicans decry anything that tries to help the poor and the sick as a nanny state, and actively punish and demonzie people who are poor or sick as being leeches. In the place of the message of christ they claim to follow *and sometimes claim to own*, we are left with a pro-rich, anti-poor/middle class system of goverment that punishes people for the crime of 'not-having', while perpetuating the social systems that prevent people from climbing that ladder and getting ahead.

    It is about fairness. One side advocates for it, and one declares it socialist facisem... which is a oxymoron, because those two things are polar opposates that don't play nice together.
     
  10. Pseudojim

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    It still seems a little bit of a tangent, though, the original post seems to have been about the spiritual side of the issue.
     
  11. zeratul

    zeratul Guest

    I would join the harem of everyone involved in this thread. Lets avoid the tangency here.
     
  12. RedState

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    God, that would be one of the first times that you noticed that I didn't challenge your nonsense.
    I still say you need to have a drink and follow the advice of Red Skelton: "Don't take yourself too seriously, because no one else does"
    Have a good night :slight_smile:
     
  13. Flyers2011

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    He makes some really good points in his article. I can't tell you how many Christians (not Evangelists, but still Christians) who will go to church and act like they are holy and following the teaching of God and Jesus, but when they step out of church. BOOM! Transformation. They gossip, lie, cheat, steal, refuse to help their fellow man, and live as if they don't know God. It's disgusting. Either be a Christian or don't.
     
  14. Emberstone

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    If it is nonsense, why not counter it instead of attacking me for stating something anyone who bothers to look at reality can see for themselves. Instead of challanging me on why you think I am wrong, you belittling me for stating something you don't agree with.

    In civilized society, if you disagree with someone, you should be able to counter what it is you disagree with, without resorting to petty snide attacks.



    I was having a conversation with someone last night. One of the most famous biblical scenes, one that is so well-known that even non-christians will know what your talking about when you quote from it, is a statement against the death penalty.

    "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" evokes such a strong reaction. Few people will hear it, and not know that it is talking about a scene in the bible where a mob had decided to stone a person to death for a crime, and jesus came upon the scene where this mob had declared the "penalty" for the crime to be "Death" by stoning... AKA, a "Death Penalty". He turned to them and said the above quote: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." The mob stopped their efforts to stone the person to death.

    He speaks out directly against the death penalty, and declares it immoral, unethical, and in every way, wrong. like the article points out, evangelicals support the death penalty... yet christ rejected it as wrong in every way.

    Why do republicans keep trying to claim that america was founded as a christian nation, and therefore christian law should be american law... then support all these things christ himself rejected, was fircely against, and declared crimes against god himself?

    If christ was against it, why do christ-claiming people support it?
     
  15. RedState

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    Good lord, learn to take a joke man.
    I worry about you sometimes...hope you are ok

    Well, it's not strictly Republicans that claim this country was founded by Christians...they kinda were. I don't think there were a lot of Muslims or Buddhist running around the Continental Congress..but, idk...you folks on the West Coast may have had different history book than me. Mine said George Washington was the first President...what did yours say?
     
    #15 RedState, Mar 6, 2011
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2011
  16. zeratul

    zeratul Guest

    I've seen many atheists argue that if you look at the writings of people such as Thomas Jefferson, you could argue that the founding fathers were not the Christians you thought they were. You could argue they were pantheists or atheists or naturalists or whatever. The name Christian was branded on them due to their era and time. The original documents of office touches very little on God and was ahead of its time in terms of theology.
     
  17. Fintan

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    Ouch... I didn't post the article so that a bash-fest against the Republicans could ensue. I think both Republicans and Democrats stand for very important viewpoints, but more central to this, is the fact that we have different viewpoints being heard in our law making bodies.

    Nevertheless, I posted in the article, because I think it uniquely used the media hype which so often surrounds far-right extreme Christians, to highlight why they do not fit into MAINSTREAM Christianity which make up the majority of believers.

    I am tired of being hesitant about telling people that I am a Christian because of the strange far-right stereotypes they immediately brand me with.

    Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Christians must be on the left or right of the political spectrum, I am just saying that there are far more of us in the centre than at the extremes :wink:
     
  18. RedState

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    Oh I wouldn't worry about it too much Fintan..no worries :slight_smile:
    If the wind blows in the wrong direction some folks here..ahem... tend to launch into silly tirades on how it is the Republicans fault and how we are going to lead to the downfall of civilization because the wind is blowing northwest instead of east.
    Thanks for posting this article tho...it does raise some very interesting points. When I first saw it was from the Huff Post, i was like..."oh lord, here we go again" but it actually was very good.
     
    #18 RedState, Mar 6, 2011
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2011
  19. ShebbsIsAwesome

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    so... much... text...
     
  20. Pseudojim

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    Some were, some weren't. A few, i don't know any names, were actually religious traditionalists. Jefferson and franklin were both strongly anti-clerical and critical of organised religion. You can read about the 'Jefferson Bible' here

    Most people were christian those days. As a group, they did a remarkable job separating their religion from their politics, though... which is the way it really should be.