there's something wrong with christianity in america when so-called....

[Gato Moteado]

...christians are marching in favor of war and demonizing the peace makers. there's something seriously wrong with that. why isn't that a big issue in the civic debate? or in the media? or most importantly, in the churches?

i mean, we at DU know that the religious fanatics in the US are easily manipulated and that is why the repubs pander to them. religious fanatics (of any stripe) tend to be emotionally unstable anyways. but missing from the civic discourse are the sane voices pointing out the painfully obvious...that it is totally incongruent with christianity to support war, killing of any kind (including the death penalty), guns, bigotry, violence, hatred, intolerance. would jesus, himself, support a political party that lies to start wars, feeds off the poor to give more wealth to the rich, makes it harder for the elderly and the sick to get access to healthcare, exploits people in poverty stricken third world nations and does everything it can to ensure further destruction of the environment to benefit a few wealthy individuals?

on every issue, the stance of the republican party and its followers is incongruent with true christianity. why can't people on the left (particularly clergy members) articulate these points? the freeper filth are making it very easy, particularly with their pro-war/anti-peace marches and protests. how much more anti-christ can a group of people be?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I had the misfortune

of having to listen to one of these fanatics. When I objected, he took quotations out of context and assured me that Jesus would kill all the people this fellow didn't like. It will amuse you to know the fellow was a used car salesman who was known for crooked deals.

[KayLaw]

7. Sounds like where I lived

We lived in Roanoke, VA for a bit and I Iread letters like that in the editorial section of the paper. . . God loves you and Jesus loves you and died for your sins, so you damned well do what they say or they'll put you on a mountain top where your eyes will be pecked out by angy crows. . .

[bloom]

2. "Church Folks for a Better America" "

http://www.cfba.info/index.html

It's mostly the Christian "right" - the supporters of zionism that are pro-war.

There are MANY liberal Christians opposed to the war/torture who are active in their opposition.

[JDPriestly]

3. These so-called "Christians" have abandoned the teachings

of Jesus. Jesus taught that God is loving and forgiving. These "Christians" believe in a vengeful God. Jesus taught that religion is not a matter of obeying rules, but of loving your neighbor as yourself. These "Christians" want us to follow their rules. They want to dictate what words we use, what movies we see, what we read, what we think.

If you believe in a vengeful God, believing that you are doing his work by avenging what you perceive as a wrong is an easy step, a logical step. If you believe that obeying rules is the key to the religious life, you will follow your "commander in chief" without questioning if you are persuaded that the rules require you to follow him. If the kind of "Christians" that I describe above dictate the words you use, the movies you see, the books, magazines and websites you read and what you think, you will never pause to consider or have the information to figure out how wrong those self-styled "Christians" are.

[Rich Hunt]

4. I don't know why they call it "Christianity"

Their real religion seems to be nihilism, it seems.

[kestrel91316]

24. These freaks are Christofascists. Not to be mistaken for true

Followers of Christ.

By their fruits ye shall know them.

[ladjf]

21. Their God is pillaging our planet.

[CityZen-X]

5. Constantinian Christians vs.

prophetic Christians. The latter believe in the works and the beatitudes of Yashua, and the Constantinians are duped into the once Roman emperors Faustian machinations.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. One problem is that real christians

usually don't go round talking about their christianity. Christianity is about how you live and treat others, not what labels and images you attach to your self.

By their deeds you shall know them. I think people are finally waking up and starting to 'see the light' has they say.

[LittleClarkie]

8. I've been told, even when churchs pipe up on our side

that some folks don't want to hear from them or have them get involved in politics regardless. Which creates a puzzle. The Religious Right is showing no such restraint, but I can imagine churches that lean left showing restraint for just that reason (they don't believe in mixing religion and politics.) So then we have only the one voice out there.

All I know is that there are a HELL of a lot more Democrats in my church than I ever thought there were. And I found that out by wearing my Kerry button TO church, rather than chickening out.

[Gato Moteado]

10. evangelicals made up 36% of chimpy's voters in 2004

these distorted christians that we're talking about mainly seem to be hillbillies and rednecks. how did the white trash in the US corner the market on christianity?

[LittleClarkie]

11. You said Christianity in America

Didn't specify Evangelicals.

We're not all like that, actually.

[Gato Moteado]

13. good point......

whether it's true or not, it just seems that this "evangelical" style of christianity is the mainstream in the US. these are fringoid christians or anti-christians for sure, but they aren't a small group. people like jerry falwell and pat robertson have jillions of followers. so because they are no small group and because sane christians either don't have a voice or aren't exercising their voices, the fringoid fanatical anti-christ christianity is becoming the accepted mainstream.

and look where it's going. if you thought it couldn't get any worse than pat robertson or jerry fallwell or jimmy swaggart or jim bakker you were mistaken. the extreme right wingers now have fred phelps and reverend sun yung moon (who actually thinks he's christ).

[DivinBreuvage]

22. Don't confuse "mainstream" with "loudest and richest"

FYI, our pastor (United Church of Christ) lost his job for speaking out against the administration. It was a decision undertaken by the minority on the Ministerial Cabinet against the majority in the congregation, and it raised holy hell.

[JDPriestly]

16. The "Christians" the post describes aren't Christians at all.

[NewInNewJ.]

9. I can tell you why!!!!!!

My sister is a very rightwing Christian. She sends me email everyday from the Church that she works at in Ky. I send her the Cindy Sheehan
articles, the crooked Delay articles, the cutting of funds for the less fortunate in our Country, and what do I get back?

A stupid question of __ Have you heard from the Nattally Holoway family?

So help me, it is usless to even try. Her Minister is much more liberal then she is. So I give up.

[ktowntennesseedem]

12. The Religious Right is neither.

If you remember that, they won't go away, but their crap is at least a bit more tolerable.

[Gato Moteado]

14. it makes a nice bumper sticker.....

....but it doesn't substitute for sane clergy members standing up all over the country and denouncing the mainstream anti-christ christianity by being able to articulate it in a way that even these inbred rednecks can understand it.

[ucmike]

15. consider the violent history of christianity

i can't imagine how many people have been killed in the name of christianity. it's not so surprising that the message is being corrupted again (or still).

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. Up is down and black is white through the looking glass

[DanCa]

18. I am no longer Catholic but wasn't pope jean paul 2, may he rip,

against this miserable excuse for a war? Unfortunately the bishops only seem to worry abour sexual morality these days. Oh there is the Episcopal peace fellowship but the fundies have much more of a voice and dollars than the smaller churches do. Plus the msm loves to sterotype everyone as a bush bot

[kestrel91316]

25. I heard tell that JPII believed that * was the Antichrist. I concur.

[leesa]

19. They have been so blinded by the non-issue of abortion and by their

own arrogant self-righteousness. Now they can't admit they were duped once again.

[Cleita]

20. Well, I think the Prince of Lies comes from a different

direction. The whole right movement we are fighting is based on dishonesty and lies. That has nothing to do with the real Jesus Christ.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Irnoic at many levels

I had fun with a fundie... he started saying how Chist would aprove

I looked down and whispered, "and at the end of days a false church shall rise taking many of the flock away."

This is a paraphrase and yuo know what, the shoe fit so well... he looked angry and befudled

You shall burn for your heresy

And you shall know them for their fruits and he shall call others at the end of days.

He was and went apoplectic on this... and decided to call it a day.

You too can have some fun if you get my drift... and given that I am a Jew I do have fun twisting them with the New testament