It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum
Topics => Faith & Family => Topic started by: Pandora on March 06, 2011, 04:54:33 PM
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I think this is most of ya'll here....
The results from a recent poll published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Tea-Party-and-Religion.aspx (http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Tea-Party-and-Religion.aspx)) reveal what social scientists have known for a long time: White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.
Jesus unambiguously preached mercy and forgiveness. These are supposed to be cardinal virtues of the Christian faith. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of the death penalty, draconian sentencing, punitive punishment over rehabilitation, and the governmental use of torture. Jesus exhorted humans to be loving, peaceful, and non-violent. And yet Evangelicals are the group of Americans most supportive of easy-access weaponry, little-to-no regulation of handgun and semi-automatic gun ownership, not to mention the violent military invasion of various countries around the world. Jesus was very clear that the pursuit of wealth was inimical to the Kingdom of God, that the rich are to be condemned, and that to be a follower of Him means to give one's money to the poor. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of corporate greed and capitalistic excess, and they are the most opposed to institutional help for the nation's poor -- especially poor children. They hate anything that smacks of "socialism," even though that is essentially what their Savior preached. They despise food stamp programs, subsidies for schools, hospitals, job training -- anything that might dare to help out those in need. Even though helping out those in need was exactly what Jesus urged humans to do. In short, Evangelicals are that segment of America which is the most pro-militaristic, pro-gun, and pro-corporate, while simultaneously claiming to be most ardent lovers of the Prince of Peace.
What's the deal?
Before attempting an answer, allow a quick clarification. Evangelicals don't exactly hate Jesus -- as we've provocatively asserted in the title of this piece. They do love him dearly. But not because of what he tried to teach humanity. Rather, Evangelicals love Jesus for what he does for them. Through his magical grace, and by shedding his precious blood, Jesus saves Evangelicals from everlasting torture in hell, and guarantees them a premium, luxury villa in heaven. For this, and this only, they love him. They can't stop thanking him. And yet, as for Jesus himself -- his core values of peace, his core teachings of social justice, his core commandments of goodwill -- most Evangelicals seem to have nothing but disdain.
And this is nothing new. At the end of World War I, the more rabid, and often less educated Evangelicals decried the influence of the Social Gospel amongst liberal churches. According to these self-proclaimed torch-bearers of a religion born in the Middle East, progressive church-goers had been infected by foreign ideas such as German Rationalism, Soviet-style Communism, and, of course, atheistic Darwinism. In the 1950s, the anti-Social Gospel message piggybacked the rhetoric of anti-communism, which slashed and burned its way through the Old South and onward through the Sunbelt, turning liberal churches into vacant lots along the way. It was here that the spirit and the body collided, leaving us with a prototypical Christian nationalist, hell-bent on prosperity. Charity was thus rebranded as collectivism and self-denial gave way to the gospel of accumulation. Church-to-church, sermon-to-sermon, evangelical preachers grew less comfortable with the fish and loaves Jesus who lived on earth, and more committed to the angry Jesus of the future. By the 1990s, this divine Terminator gained "most-favored Jesus status" among America's mega churches; and with that, even the mention of the former "social justice" Messiah drove the socially conscious from their larger, meaner flock.
In addition to such historical developments, there may very well simply be an underlying, all-too-human social-psychological process at root, one that probably plays itself out among all religious individuals: they see in their religion what they want to see, and deny or despise the rest. That is, religion is one big Rorschach test. People look at the content of their religious tradition -- its teachings, its creeds, its prophet's proclamations -- and they basically pick and choose what suits their own secular outlook. They see in their faith what they want to see as they live their daily lives, and simultaneously ignore the rest. And as is the case for most White Evangelical Christians, what they are ignoring is actually the very heart and soul of Jesus's message -- a message that emphasizes sharing, not greed. Peace-making, not war-mongering. Love, not violence.
Of course, conservative Americans have every right to support corporate greed, militarism, gun possession, and the death penalty, and to oppose welfare, food stamps, health care for those in need, etc. -- it is just strange and contradictory when they claim these positions as somehow "Christian." They aren't.
I dragged this here from my local forum, where the poster had no problem of conscience, on Sunday, with pillorying Christians in the name of "Social Justice".
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This person needs an intervention.
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Brilliant. Use a cartoonish, out of context, ignorant caricature of Christ's message and Christian doctrine to define Christianity, and then pillory the most devout practitioners of the faith because they don't live up to the caricature.
Thus begins dehumanization and persecution.
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Ah yes, they're exactly right. Jesus commanded the faithful to hire the government as a proxy for the purpose of stealing from others in the pursuit of a nebulous "social justice". /sarc
I invite the author of that screed to examine charitable contributions and volunteerism. You can summarize their argument as one big, long whine that evangelicals don't like using the government as an instrument of social engineering.
And as you hint in your last sentence, the person who wrote this is probably one of the first to wax poetic about the separation of Church and State. Yet in this instance, they seem irritated that White evangelicals don't use the state to enforce Biblical teachings.
Cognitive dissonance? Nope, because their only guiding principle is "by any means necessary". Taking contradictory positions is fine, as long as it's in service to that end.
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I need to clarify one thing: he/she named the thread "Truism"; I'm responsible for pegging it as "social justice" bullcrap.
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Ahh, a truism. An axiom. I love how the Left gets to decide what is axiomatic. It's the kissing-cousin of the "the science is settled" argument for AGW.
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This is the sort of twisting of religious and Biblical principles Beck has been worrying over infecting our churches - which it has - because those firmly grounded in their Biblical knowledge and faith know falsity when they hear it. Others, who are alone led by what the priest/pastor/preacher says, don't.
Principalities and Powers. >:(
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This is the sort of twisting of religious and Biblical principles Beck has been worrying over infecting our churches - which it has - because those firmly grounded in their Biblical knowledge and faith know falsity when they hear it. Others, who are alone led by what the priest/pastor/preacher says, don't.
Principalities and Powers. >:(
Regretablly, more and more churches are adhereing to this "message". A perversion of the word of God. Twisting strongly held teachings such as "mercy" and/or "forgivness" to equate a tolerance of any sin. The need to not flee from it.
I can always tell when I've visited one of these churches who adhere to this type of message. Apparantly, I can sin...and sin...and sin....never attempting to flee from my sin or correct my behavior. I don't have a beef toward anyone who wants to cling to this belief system, but God is capable of never ending compassion, forgivness and tolerance.....It does nor equate to receiving it if you make no effort.
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A monthlong billboard campaign set to begin in Indianapolis on Monday will tell motorists they "don't need God" to live fulfilling lives. (http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20110304/NEWS01/103040346/Atheist-ad-campaign-hits-Indianapolis)
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A monthlong billboard campaign set to begin in Indianapolis on Monday will tell motorists they "don't need God" to live fulfilling lives. (http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20110304/NEWS01/103040346/Atheist-ad-campaign-hits-Indianapolis)
Running this message in DC? ::rolllaughing:: ::rolllaughing:: Kinda like preaching to the choir, isn't it???
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Brilliant. Use a cartoonish, out of context, ignorant caricature of Christ's message and Christian doctrine to define Christianity, and then pillory the most devout practitioners of the faith because they don't live up to the caricature.
Thus begins dehumanization and persecution.
Excellent summary. I concur.
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Brilliant. Use a cartoonish, out of context, ignorant caricature of Christ's message and Christian doctrine to define Christianity, and then pillory the most devout practitioners of the faith because they don't live up to the caricature.
Thus begins dehumanization and persecution.
Excellent summary. I concur.
It's the Alinsky method in action.
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Apostates.
Just say NO!
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I hate that phrase "social justice".
Where's the justice for the 3,700 babies that die tomorrow by abortion?
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I hate that phrase "social justice".
Where's the justice for the 3,700 babies that die tomorrow by abortion?
To understand the liberal justice....we must first understand the liberal mind.
But I believe a liberal will tell you it is not a child but an unviable tissue mass. Go figure.
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A serial killer on Death Row, however, is a precious life.
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A serial killer on Death Row, however, is a precious life.
Yea,,,There should be no death penalty because life is too precious....Unless you are an unviable tissue mass.
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A serial killer on Death Row, however, is a precious life.
Yea,,,There should be no death penalty because life is too precious....Unless you are an unviable tissue mass.
Oh, not just an unviable tissue mass. A PARASITE!
Liberals suck.
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Remember, give credit where credit is due.
Phil Zuckerman.Professor of Sociology, Pitzer College in Claremont, CA.
This article was co-authored by Dan Cady is an assistant professor of history at California State University, Fresno.
The tards at Huffington Post lapped it right up.
The boy's got some issues
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-zuckerman (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-zuckerman)
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Sociology!
The original trash bin of leftist loons!
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Sociology, another "science". There's a reason most universities have separate buildings for the "social sciences". Real scientists won't tolerate them under the same roof. I remember having such a sense of relief in the chemistry building, after having waded through yet another damn drum circle and unwashed hippies scribbling nonsense on the sidewalks in neon chalk. Moonbats regarded the chemistry building with a mix of fear and apprehension, you know, big scary numbers and concrete answers!
They like social "sciences" because they are necessarily founded on statistical models, and statistics is the Play-Doh of the sophist.
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Sociology, another "science". There's a reason most universities have separate buildings for the "social sciences". Real scientists won't tolerate them under the same roof. I remember having such a sense of relief in the chemistry building, after having waded through yet another damn drum circle and unwashed hippies scribbling nonsense on the sidewalks in neon chalk. Moonbats regarded the chemistry building with a mix of fear and apprehension, you know, big scary numbers and concrete answers!
They like social "sciences" because they are necessarily founded on statistical models, and statistics is the Play-Doh of the sophist.
In short, they like being able to pull any answer out of their butt and be congratulated for it!
There are two disciplines :P I learned early on to avoid arguing if I wanted a good grade - sociology & political science. The prof's running those indoctrination centers were devoid of sanity and incapable of admitting error. I spoon-fed their rotten filth back at them, took my A and ridiculed them every chance I could. I still remember the Poli-Sci moron...he had the nerve to call (old MN Dem Rep) Gerry Sikorski a moderate! That's how far gone those SOB's were three decades ago!
Screw them all. There is no salvaging that ilk, complete write-off's!
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The "Social Sciences" are designed to give a pass to people who are unable to exert academic rigor in any other school of study . In such cases a priori thinking is the norm and any conclusions drawn from hard experience are thrown out the window as being irrelevant . "Empirical" is a dirty word .
As far as "Political Science" goes ... I've always wondered where the science part comes into play . Anyone who wants to get into politics should spend ten years in the rough and tumble world of business . If they can survive that they'll have the equivalence of a PhD. in Poli-Sci .
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I think I'd rather have a degree in philosophy. ::rimshot::
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Born again believers purpose is telling others about the Good News on what Jesus Yeshua did for us on the Cross. Because we are so grateful what He has done for us we want to tell others about the Good News of the Gospel. However, even though we are not saved by good works, our hearts have changed as believers therefore, we now want to go out and help others as we can as lead by the Holy Spirit. As Believers in time we develop a heart of Charity…………..NOT SOCIAL JUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charity has empathy for those in need and shares with them, cares for them, comforts them, encourages them, prays for them and provides for them as a divine demonstration of God’s love, compassion and generosity. In doing so, we bless others as God has blessed us in our time of need. Christian charity is a picture of the Gospel and God’s grace toward the spiritual poverty and desperation of a lost soul. As Chuck Colson says “ when Jesus taught about charity and compassion, he was not speaking to government officials about their civic duties; he was speaking to individuals about their moral duties. That’s because in the biblical division of responsibility, the Church, not the State, is the instrument of compassion.”
Social Justice on the other hand is a made up liberal word, simply it is a euphemism for equality. Lefties want an egalitarian society in which citizens enjoy equal opportunities and equal outcomes, as well. Liberal “Christian Pators” teach the same idea.................. I like the term Social theology. They preach a heretical Christian doctrine of fairness and equality using Jesus words and teachings totally out of context. Their intent is to make a theology that they want instead of what God wants.
2 Timothy 4:3 says it best "For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold."
Lefty church's use Jesus and His teachings via a false doctrine and using the government as the vehicle of promoting social justice as it end goal. With little interest in converting and changing the “helped” individuals soul.
Born again believer Churches end goal is going into all the world and preaching the Gospel of the Good-News and will promote good works such as charity as defined as above (not a liberal definition) to those in need again, with the ultimate goal in mind that said individuals will become born again believers with a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. With out any help of the government
The Social Gospel taught is the work of men, not the Will and Word of God and this teaching is found nowhere in the Bible, therefore they are blaspheming Gods Holy name.
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Born again believers purpose is telling others about the Good News on what Jesus Yeshua did for us on the Cross. Because we are so grateful what He has done for us we want to tell others about the Good News of the Gospel. However, even though we are not saved by good works, our hearts have changed as believers therefore, we now want to go out and help others as we can as lead by the Holy Spirit. As Believers in time we develop a heart of Charity…………..NOT SOCIAL JUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charity has empathy for those in need and shares with them, cares for them, comforts them, encourages them, prays for them and provides for them as a divine demonstration of God’s love, compassion and generosity. In doing so, we bless others as God has blessed us in our time of need. Christian charity is a picture of the Gospel and God’s grace toward the spiritual poverty and desperation of a lost soul. As Chuck Colson says “ when Jesus taught about charity and compassion, he was not speaking to government officials about their civic duties; he was speaking to individuals about their moral duties. That’s because in the biblical division of responsibility, the Church, not the State, is the instrument of compassion.”
Social Justice on the other hand is a made up liberal word, simply it is a euphemism for equality. Lefties want an egalitarian society in which citizens enjoy equal opportunities and equal outcomes, as well. Liberal “Christian Pators” teach the same idea.................. I like the term Social theology. They preach a heretical Christian doctrine of fairness and equality using Jesus words and teachings totally out of context. Their intent is to make a theology that they want instead of what God wants.
2 Timothy 4:3 says it best "For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold."
Lefty church's use Jesus and His teachings via a false doctrine and using the government as the vehicle of promoting social justice as it end goal. With little interest in converting and changing the “helped” individuals soul.
Born again believer Churches end goal is going into all the world and preaching the Gospel of the Good-News and will promote good works such as charity as defined as above (not a liberal definition) to those in need again, with the ultimate goal in mind that said individuals will become born again believers with a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. With out any help of the government
The Social Gospel taught is the work of men, not the Will and Word of God and this teaching is found nowhere in the Bible, therefore they are blaspheming Gods Holy name.
Amen!!
Glad to hear you again!!