A country divided by Christ

[globalvillage]

Good editorial piece in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today

Forum: A country divided by Christ
Claiming God for your political party, says the Rev. Dr. N. Graham Standish, is a dangerous folly
Sunday, June 12, 2005

If you are a Christian, how should you vote, Republican or Democrat?

As a seminary student in the 1980s, the choice seemed clear, at least for many of my classmates. We could not be Christian and Republican. We especially could not be Christian and vote for Ronald Reagan. The only choice was to be a Democrat. You can imagine that I felt a bit odd being a registered Republican who happened to vote for Ronald Reagan ... twice. Apparently I wasn't much of a Christian back then.


How time changes everything. Today, Christians all over the country, in print and on conservative talk radio, suggest that the only political option for Christians is to be Republican. During the last election, churches nationwide urged their members, and Christians their friends, to vote for George W. Bush. They simultaneously attacked John Kerry's faith, suggesting that he should be barred from Roman Catholic communion because of his political beliefs. Apparently, to be a Christian now means to be a Republican.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05163/519879.stm

[Benhurst]

1. It all depends on how you define the word "Christian."

People who worship a vengeful god of war and greed are not followers of the teachings of Christ.

[globalvillage]

4. The article suggests the same.

It's quite good. Did you read it?

[Benhurst]

5. Yes; but I suspect most won't.

[globalvillage]

7. I was surprised to see

that it's most of page 1 of the op ed section today, with a large illustration and continued on page 2. Everyone reading the editorial section of the PG will see this.
It's just Pittsburgh, but it's progress.

[AussieDave]

2. An intelligent editorial

which won't budge the extremist fundamentalist "Taliban Christians" who have hijacked the Republican Party, but hopefully it will help those reasonable souls who drank the Kool-Aid before voting last November to wake up and realize just what is happening to the country.

Is "reasonable Republican" a tautology ??

[sam sarrha]

3. The Corporation of the Jesus Logo isn't a Christian Church.. LINK>

http://www.insider-Magazine.com/ChristianMafia.htm

The Christian Fellowship was started by a Nazi Fascist Jew who actually helped start the Nazi Party, who fled to the US after the Jews were scapegoated.

Who is the Christian Fellowship..?? scan thru the TV Preachers..

they sponsor the Prayer Breakfasts that the pRersident and any politician who wants to be anyone in DC goes to....regularly

[Benhurst]

6. My first post on DU was flamed for daring to criticize

Billy Graham. It's amazing how many even on DU continue to be deceived by such a charlatan. Thanks for your link to the Madsen article.

[LaurenG]

8. They base it all and hook followers over choice

It's nearly entirely over that issue and the fear of going to hell if what the preacher/priest suggests isn't followed.

If we could alleviate their basic fears of damnation we'd have it made. Fat chance though, almost no one can face that thought having been that indoctrinated, it takes a huge personal crises to lift that veil.

[forgethell]

9. Hypothetically,

why would you suppose that Christians wouldn't vote their interests, the same as anybody else?

[globalvillage]

10. Hypothetically, all else being equal...

they would.

If they were not brainwashed from the pulpit.

[beam me up scottie]

11. Outstanding editorial !!!

Thanks for posting this, everyone should read this op/ed piece.
All he is asking is for christians to think for themselves.
What a radical concept...

*****
Why do so many non-fundamentalist Christians follow fundamentalist agendas, especially when it comes to politics? One answer is that influential fundamentalists have learned to articulate rigid beliefs in a moderate and compelling language that softens the hardness of their position.

For example, in Kansas fundamentalists have put their weight behind a proposal that "intelligent design" be taught in biology classes. Intelligent design is an idea that sounds very much like what the Roman Catholic Church and most mainline Protestant churches worldwide believe: that while evolution may be the mechanism of creation, God is the architect, engineer and project manager. Fundamentalists hope that the teaching of "intelligent design" in schools will take them one step closer to barring the teaching of evolution in schools. What they don't reveal is their belief that there is only one truth: their religious truth. There is little room for thinking that integrates the insights of both religion and science.

Fundamentalists have also learned to employ an issue-reduction strategy using people and their stories to oversimplify complex issues in order to promote a fundamentalist ideology.

The Terry Schiavo case was a great example of this. Fundamentalists who heavily influence the Republican Party used her to reframe the issue of euthanasia by reducing it to a portrayal of a virtuous family trying to keep a disabled (they refused to call her comatose) woman alive, while her evil husband tried to kill her. They prompted the media and Republican rhetoric with all sorts of unsubstantiated accusations that Michael Schiavo was a greedy and abusive husband who wanted to kill Terry for his own personal gain. In doing so, they reduced the larger issue of euthanasia to a simple equation they hoped all would agree with: extending life is virtuous, while euthanasia is evil.
*****

[beam me up scottie]

12. Nominated. .nt

[Dcitizen]

13. It's really terrific to blame Christ for voting.

Not a single word of God in our Christian bible has asked any one to vote any one.

Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, as a tempest of hail a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. (Isaiah 28:2)

All we know that if God was angry our actions then our penalty would be bigger and He would send forth hurricanes, floods... Evil also might already well reside in the churches. If we listen to church of politics as our Savior, but not church of God, then who will save our souls? and who give us the resurrection?

[dattaswamI]

14. FAMILY BOND-RESPOSIBILITY TO FAMILY-BOND WITH GOD

FAMILY BOND-RESPOSIBILITY TO FAMILY-BOND WITH GOD

Gita says ‘Eka Bhakthih Vishishyate’ which means that the person having only one bond with the Lord alone is liberated. The liberation itself means destruction of all the bonds in this world. Without full liberation, one cannot have a strong bond with the Lord. Unless one is completely relieved from the world, one cannot join God. The joining report in the new institution is not possible without complete relief from the previous institution. You cannot partially join the new institution. It cannot be a side employment. Ofcourse such partial bond can be treated as the intermediate stage and is better than no bond. But the aim should not be such partial bond. If you aim at 100 marks, you may get 40 marks and pass. But if you aim at 40 marks only, you will fail. Therefore, let the aim be total liberation from the world and single bond with the God.

The bond consists of three parts. The service in terms of sacrifice of work and fruit of work comprises ninety-nine paise. Love with mind consists of 2/3rd paise. Remembering through words consists of 1/3rd paise. If you take the case of Sankara, he has donated the whole rupee to the Lord. His love for his mother, words to praise mother and service to mother are diverted towards the Lord. He left his mother for the sake of the Lord. He has donated all the one hundred paise to the Lord. He is the top most beloved of the Lord. He should be our aim. In the beginning stage you cannot divert your work, which is called duty and mental attachment, which is called love to the Lord. At least make a humble beginning by donating the words to the Lord. Go on reading spiritual books and go on chanting his songs. By this you have donated 1/3rd paise to the Lord. Remember that you cannot purchase any item from any shop with 1/3rd paise. Therefore, do not aspire any thing in return from the Lord, for this 1/3rd paise. In the next stage you try to divert your mind towards the Lord, which is 2/3rd paise.
Do your duties to your family members, but without mental attachment. Such mental detachment has several added advantages. If one is mentally detached from the family members, he will not be hurt if they insult him in future. He will not be disturbed when their behaviour is not correct. He will not suffer if death attacks them. Such mental detachment brings full peace and balance of mind. Due to this he will be always energetic with good health. Therefore such mental detachment is needed even for an atheist. The detached mind cannot keep silent because it is habituated to the attachment. Therefore, attach the mind to the Lord. Such attachment will always give infinite bliss in the life. When you are successful in attaching the mind to the Lord, you are called as devotee. But a devotee can be disturbed. The devotion becomes firm if his intelligence takes a firm decision through knowledge. Therefore, Knowledge gives firm decision to the intelligence (Buddhi) and this makes the devotion of mind (Manas) to be firm. Therefore, Gita started with Buddhi Yoga or Jnana Yoga in the second chapter.
When the mind is fixed on the Lord with the help of the knowledge of the intelligence, the work will naturally change and will follow the mind. The mind is like the king. The words are like his ministers. The intelligence is like his preacher or Guru. The work is like his army. Therefore, with the help of the words the mind should be diverted to the Lord and it is fixed with the help of the intelligence. The words divert the mind, whereas the intelligence fixes the mind. Therefore, when you have donated words and mind to the Lord and when you are strengthened by the spiritual knowledge your duties and responsibilities, which form the work, will naturally be diverted towards the Lord. The work is always inert item and is controlled by the mind and intelligence.