The Religious Right - Blinded By the Light

From Independent Mail:

The Bible states that the love of money is the root of all evil. While I’m not going to dispute the truth of that statement, in a very close second place has to be the love of power.

For the purpose of this essay, I’m defining power as the ability and desire to control another’s acts and beliefs. Political power is all too familiar, epitomized by brutal dictatorships. It is also a core component of democracies such as our own. There are also financial power, military power and, at a much more subtle level, religious power. An example of religious power entering the world of political power is seen when religious leaders use their pulpits to try to motivate their congregations to elect public officials solely to promote legislation supporting their religious beliefs.

Nothing in the history of mankind has inspired more good than religion. The belief in a supreme being is the primary reason we’ve left behind our barbaric tendencies. It is this belief that leads many to be kind and loving to those around them, rather than relying on brute force. Virtually any act considered to be good has its roots in religious teachings. It is also the belief in a higher power that can give one peace, comfort and hope in times of crisis or pain.

At the same time, nothing has precipitated more evil than religion. It is the tendency of some with strong religious beliefs to try to convert or punish those who do not share those beliefs, even if by force. It is that deep conviction that led to such historical atrocities as the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition within the Christian faith. That same deep conviction leads to extremist Muslim terrorist acts, including the 9/11 attacks. Religious fervor is also responsible for much of the anti-Semitism that has followed the Jewish people throughout history, including the Holocaust.

Read the entire post by clicking here.

A Must Read Article for All Who Oppose Gay Marriage

What is the basis of decision-making, I ask, that was used by the vast majority of individuals who voted in favor of Proposition 8? The answer can be summarized in one word: religion. While this approach is the prerogative of the individual, I thought that the separation of church (and I use the term broadly) and state had already been established in the annals of ancient history. Letting religious beliefs influence the law and letting the basic rights of some citizens be determined by the religious convictions of other citizens is not in the spirit of democracy or justice. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, as much Proposition 8 supporters would like to disagree, marriage is very much a legal right. Regardless of its cultural or religious roots, marriage has become a legal institution that caters to people of all religious affiliations, as well as atheists, that is recognized by the law and given certain privileges and that has been practiced as such for centuries now. Hence, civil marriage is very much a legal institution, and therefore, has an identity separate from religion, which ought to be upheld.

Read the entire article atthe cornellian.com!

Why the Christian Right is Really Wrong

I am not one to fault anyone for having views of faith. Who and how you worship is a very personal thing in my eyes and I do not believe there is a right or wrong God, faith or style of worship. I do feel very strongly however we should maintain a separation of church and state, but not perhaps for the reason you may believe. I recognize that many “Christians”, especially many evangelicals do not like, approve of, or condone in anyway the GLBT community. I stand behind the freedom of that choice. Unlike being gay however, acceptance and understanding is a choice. So, it is my opinion those who chose not to accept those different from themselves are actually dealing with much greater issues than we know. Hate is caused by fear, fear is from the unknown, the unknown is ignorance and ignorance is bliss. There is so much going on in the lives and minds of those who hate that it just may be impossible for those persons to change.

So, what is the reason I believe in separation of church and state? It’s simple really, I’ve already stated it. There is no right or wrong when it comes to religion. It is not my place, or anyone else’s to say that Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Taoism or any other religion is right or wrong. Therefore, if you interject religion into government, you are pushing one particular faith onto the people as a whole, and that is wrong.

I would like to take the opportunity however to address the group who most often pushed their religious agenda onto the governing bodies of this great nation…Christians. I have found it simply appalling how the so called “Christian Right” finds it necessary to continually medal in the political realm. There again, it’s not because they are Christian, and I don’t agree with their faith, for it’s not for me to judge. However it is those very people who teach biblically how their savior (Jesus Christ) was wrongly judged and hung on a cross to die that want to do the same to the GLBT community. They judge us, they hold us in contempt, they treat us they same way Jesus was treated by his enemies…they persecute us.

I also find it very odd how so many Christians feel they are qualified to speak, if not for Jesus, for God. There is not a day go by that I don’t read a blog, hear a radio voice, or see it on cable TV. Even in the mainstream media you’ll find those who feel they are the authority on God and what God likes, dislikes, loves and hates. Somehow by claiming to be a Christian, you are automatically qualified to run the world. You automatically know what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad.
You have the Fred Phelps’ of the world who claims that God hate fags. You have the Janet Porters who spew hate toward people of differing races, nationalities and sexual orientations on a daily basis. You have the James Dobson’s and Donald Wildmon’s who claim to have a personal enough relationship with God that he (or she) has made them the next messiah, the bearer of God’s will.
Then you have those who will stand up in your face and tell you that being gay is wrong because the bible, Jesus or God (or all three) says so.

One problem here, I would be willing to bet that most of those who so freely toss out religious rhetoric haven’t even completely read the Bible. They have taken certain passages and have run with them not knowing, or understanding the true meaning behind what they are saying. Show me one person who personally knows anyone who made an actual contribution to the Bible, and I will be willing to listen. Perhaps the Bible is the word of God, but let’s not forget, if it is, it’s the word of God written through other people in a time before any of us walked the earth, and we all know how things get lost in translation. When the Bible was written, the word virgin meant a woman who had not yet given birth, not one who had not had sex. The word abomination meant something out of the norm, not a deviant passage to hell.

The fact is, people, especially Christians use religion to control. They are smart enough to realize how difficult it is to disagree with the ultimate authority, but not smart enough to realize they are not the authority. If God disapproves of my life, the life he gave me, the person he created and placed on this earth, then let him decide. There is no one person who is qualified to make that call and those very people who feel qualified to cast that judgment are the same ones who have used the Bible to oppress and control for generations.

Christianity, whether wrong or right, is not the majority religion. Christianity also has been around for thousands of years less than many other religions. Again, I’m not saying its wrong or right, but I am saying Christians, who ask not to be judged by anyone other than their God, who they do NOT know, are the ones who are the first to judge anyone who doesn’t believe exactly as they do…irony at it’s best, and the best reason to keep church and state separate!

The GOP’s Big Problem is GOD

From the Washington Post:

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.

I’m bathing in holy water as I type.

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh.

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth — as long as we’re setting ourselves free — is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.

The choir has become absurdly off-key, and many Republicans know it.

Read the Rest at the Washington Post!

The Return of Ted Haggard

Well I suppose it had to happen some day. After two years of purgatory ….or in his case tortured wanking …Ted Haggard is back in the pulpit.

And blaming a pedophile for his homosexuality.

“There I was, 50 years old, a conservative Republican, loving the word of God, an evangelical, born-again, spirit-filled, charismatic, all those things,” he said. “But some of the things that were buried in the depths of the sea from when I was in the second grade started to rage in my heart and mind.”

How convenient. It makes him sound like a victim instead of a hypocritical BIGOT. And plays to the perverted meme that gays recruit children. The one the pig homophobes are always using against gay people.

And to the creepy bigot bullsh*t that gays can be “cured.”

But now, he said, he has been transformed with the help of God and his wife.

Read the rest at Montreal Simon!

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