My cousin, the wise Plato Liebowitz sez, “before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Then, when you start criticizing them, you’re a mile away and they have to run after you without shoes.” Good advice! But I can’t follow it, ‘cause even tho I’ve tried on the others’ shoes, they didn’t fit and I’m not going anywhere.
This is gonna be a rant, and coming after yesterday’s post about gratitude, I feel kind of hypocritical and guilty about ranting, but boy, is my ego hooked and pushing me to do this!
Franklin Graham, the great Billy Graham’s son, has been in the news lately, saying that he’s not sure Obama is a Christian, but he is sure Gingrich and Santorum are. Think about that for a moment. What’s his definition of ‘Christian’? I’m sure if asked, Franklin could rationalize his position. But from the outside looking in, as a non-Christian and non-Republican, it seems Franklin’s position, and the positions of those who feel as he does, reeks of hypocrisy and prejudice.
To me the greatest tenets of Christianity are: love thy neighbor, turn the other cheek, blessed are the meek, be a good steward, and others of that kind. In fact, given my belief and practice of those ideas, I would be a christian, not a Christian, while those like Franklin and his friends and followers, who loudly proclaim their so-called Christianity but don’t seem to believe or practice christian things, especially where gays, poor people, and people of other faiths and political persuasions are concerned, would not be.
The same is true of Franklin’s and his friends and followers belief in the US Constitution. Church and state are separated in the Constitution. They would undo that if they could and allow only their kind of Christians to have the benefit of the Constitution and be allowed to be US citizens.
They talk about freedom, individual liberty and self responsibility, but would be in the bedrooms of the nation, allowing only married heterosexuals to have sex, and then only in the missionary position.
They fear ‘bigness’ and too much centralized control, especially big government; but love big multi-national banks and corporations, calling them ‘too big to fail,’ and allowing them to do whatever they want.
They’re for ‘law and order’ except for the big banks and corporations who must not be regulated and must be free of ‘burdensome’ regulation and allowed to ruin millions of lives and corrupt and despoil civil society. Law and order is for the little guy, you and me, especially for non-Christians, the black, Latino or gay little guy.
Where does the rubber meet the road for these so-called Christians? When do compassion and brotherly love the principles of christianity, replace dogma, ideological purity and bull shit of Christianity? Heaven help us if these people manage to win or steal (as they did with George Bush the Second) the next national elections, for they would put into practice the Christianity they stand for. Was Jesus a christian or a Christian?
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