Bush-Voting Christians Have Lost Their Soul

[Blue Gardener]

Don't know if this link has been posted yet. I thought it was excellent.

http://www.rense.com/general59/bushvotingchristians.htm

It's a very good take on what it should mean to be a Christian.

"Jesus Christ did not "fight back". He did not "kick ass". He did not endeavor to destroy his enemies, or support those that were doing so. Rather, He COMMANDED us as Christians to LOVE them. UNCONDITIONALLY, as He loves us."

[TomClash]

1. Here's my take

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1312056&mesg_id=1312056

[Dogmudgeon]

2. Surfest thou unto this link

And thou shalt find much to fear; yea, unto the very last cartoon:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2592961

And shouldst thou rend thy raiment, remember, Raymont® Brand Cotton-Polyester Blend lasts longer and resists tears and stains better than any other Cotton-Polyester Blend today!

--bkl

[LadyinRed]

3. Thank You

It is excellent.

[LARED]

4. The fist sentences of the link already irritated me.

Christians are called to emulate Christ. As He lived His life here on earth.

is fundamentally flawed.

Christ is the object of faith not the example. Politicizing faith from either side bugs the crap out of me.

[hippywife]

5. I beg to respectfully disagree

God is the object of faith and Christ is the example.

Like many people these past few years, I have been struggling with faith issues in the face of what has been passed off as Christianity, which has seemed like a lesson in the Old Testament with a giant leap over Christ into Revelations. When I turn my attention back to what Christ said and did, I find my compass again.

I spend alot of time reminding those that pervert Christianity to approve the rescinding of individual liberties in an effort to "keep this country a Christian nation" that God does not demand law as a system of belief. Belief has always been a choice, a matter of free will, from the example of the choices made in the Garden of Eden to finally in Revelations where it says, "I stand at the door and knock. Whosoever answers to me, I will come in to him." It is an invitation not an edict.

There is a real Christianity, and there are those of us who strive to keep it alive. It is nothing to fear, and it gives no call to loathing.

[bryant69]

7. Agrees with this post

When one attacks Christianity for the fundementalists as if they were the only representatives of Christianity, well, it's hardly a complete picture.

In a way fundamentalism is a cheat--it's taking some of the words of Christ and using them to ignore lots of other things that he taught and the way that he lived his life. The materialism and selfishness of many fundamentalists is not entirely in keeping with Christ's teachings. It reminds me of that line about the Pharisees straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[rjbny62]

9. the term full gospel makes me sick

Thanks for the post Bryant, it is right on. It is quite clear that people pick and choose only what fits them. Actually the reason many people become christians seems to have more to do with selfish interests than really wanting to love/live as Jesus loved/lived. There are followers of Christ who don't want to be associated with this so-called christianity, and who do take offense at Jesus being attacked because of its' distortion of the real message.

[0007]

10. There are folks that can get above worn out doctrines and superstitions.

Without going into a long bitter, abusive denunciation

[0007]

8. It would be a beautiful world if all men emulated Christ.

Fundamentally flawed? How?

[vi5]

6. How do I put this nicely........

I don't give a shit. I'm not a christian. I will fight back. I will kick ass and I will support those are doing so.

We as dems and liberals have turned the other cheek and taken the high road and where has it gotten us. No more.

[highplainsdem]

11. Check this website for Christian arguments against bigoted Christians,

as well as more understanding of their mindset.

http://www.christianmystics.com/basics/twoways.shtml

Fundamentalists belong to the limited, unthinking, authoritarian "Christianity of Law" group.

http://www.christianmystics.com/contemporary.shtml

This page on that website has links to some interesting articles, especially the "Bully for Christ" article ( http://www.christianmystics.com/contemporary/bully1.shtml ) that would describe so many Bush-supporting Christians and their basic misunderstanding of Christianity:

Jones' quote reflects another important fact -- those who call themselves Christians and then proceed to bully or threaten are not only wrong, they are not Christians in the sense that they are not following any attitude, teaching or characteristic of Jesus' teachings and person. If, as some people hold, anyone who does not become a Christian is damned to hell, then aren't those people who practice hatred and bullying tactics much to blame for someone not wanting to investigate becoming a Christian? Won't these people whose self-righteousness is a wall feel, at least, some of the heat?

I'm speaking metaphorically about hell, of course, because I do not pretend to think that God speaks only to Christians, all others be damned. To think that's how God operates is a kind of spiritual racism in which people who are fearful and insecure make themselves feel better by imagining they are somehow (in any way) better than somebody else.

(That quote's from page 2 of the article, at http://www.christianmystics.com/contemporary/bully2.shtml .)

I don't think you're going to make convincing arguments to many Christians by arguing directly against their faith. But you may be able to show them what's wrong with the "Christianity of Law" version of their faith. And the "Christianity of Love" version is liberal in its very essence.