Annamaria on Monday
I am taking up a topic here that I fear will be unpopular. But it is so much on my mind that I can't force myself to write something else. These words are based on a LOT of my education. And I feel an intense need to say this. I promise I'll be silly next week.
Those of you who know me, probably know that I went to Catholic School for 17 years - kindergarten through college. Therefore, I know a lot about what Jesus said.
What he did, generally speaking, was preach radical love at a time when a lot of people were not loving their neighbors. He said:
By this shall they know you, that you love one another.
What you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me.
According to the evangelists, he performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, so that he could feed the hungry who had gather around him to hear him preach.
Right now there seem to be a lot of people calling themselves Christians who are full of hate and encourage others to hate their fellow humans. Real followers of Jesus believe in love and practice it.
These days, many self-declared Christians are looking for ways to punish and even kill their fellow human beings.
And rather than feeding the hungry, they are doing away with programs that feed the hungry. For instance, they are stopping the SNAP program and therefore taking away access to food for one in eight Americans.
Real Christians would be doing the opposite!
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Dear Pat, I'm sorry you're upset (with good reason!) But please don't give up and please don't torment yourself so. In due season we will reap--if we don't give up and let those whited sepulchres get us down!
ReplyDeleteFrom AA: Thank you, Ovidia - so very much. I actually feel better for having gotten that off my chest, so to speak. I no longer practice any organized religion, nor believe in a masculine deity who will punish me for all eternity if I do not worship him. How sad it its that so many unhappy people are being manipulated into believing that their God wants the rich to get richer and that poor children should go hungry..
DeleteKwei Quartey's The White washed Tombs comes to mind...
ReplyDeleteFrom AA: Thank you, Michael. That is not a story I have read. Knowing as I do what a wonderful writer Kwei is, I and sure I will agree. I will see to it very soon.
DeleteAmen, Annamaria. Thanks for being courageous (and serious) enough to share your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFrom AA: Thank you Sara! I am sure that the majority of Christians know better and are not duped. It's the masqueraders I want to ahem... unmask!
DeleteI'm glad you wrote this, Annamaria, and I understand why you find it so upsetting that these hate-filled people call themselves Christians. But don't forget that this is nothing new. Think of the Catholic Church's crusades and inquisitions, and of the New England Puritans executing Quakers. Religion has been used as an excuse for hating the "Others" since pre-Christian times.
ReplyDeleteFrom AA: I am very well aware of that, Kim. You are right. My third in the Africa series focuses on blasphemy. It’s about people who say that their religion gives them permission to kill in the name of God. Even though there is a commandment against putting words in God’s mouth.
DeleteReligion is the greatest get-out-of-jail-free card ever invented. "It's not me, it's God's will!" A 'saying' for every position they want to take, frequently opposing positions, and all with a straight face. All is forgiven, as long as you spend an hour in church once a week.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me started...
Atheists and agnostics are some of the best people I've known, as they recognize that "the buck stops HERE."
From AA. I’m with you 100%, Everett. As I have Commented above, I no longer practice any organized religion, and I do not believe in any deity that controls the universe. I like the way you stated: the bus stops here!
ReplyDeleteROFLMAO - I give thanks to your voice-to-text software for starting my morning off with a good laugh. Alas, it is wrong (thankfully), the BUS does NOT stop here. :-)
DeleteSo true. I don't think you get far in any religious text before it says 'Don't kill.' Simply that... just don't!
ReplyDelete