A little Bible that the Right Wing needs to "brush up" on.

[theophilus]

This is all from the book of James in the New Testament. It is from various chapters and is in the New International Version. Whether you look to the New Testament for guidance or not, you can use these passages to push for progressive ideals, imo.

Pass it along.....


Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.


My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?


What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

[xchrom]

1. Amen. Nt

[theophilus]

2. And, of course, there is a lot more where that came from! n/t

[xchrom]

5. I am a christian -- and it's so interesting to me

That so many Christians forget both the prophets and Christ(he was a practicing Jew)
Primary calls to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for
The widow and orphan, etc.

Judaism and Christianity are social justice faiths.
Strongly so.

[maryf]

3. thanks.

Matthew 25, (whatsoever you do unto me...) is a good one too.

[FreakinDJ]

4. "the innocent one, who was not opposing you"

strong words indeed

[toddwv]

6. That's modern Christianity for you...

They've decided to mothball the "feed the poor, take care of the sick and be wary about accumulating wealth" in favor of focusing on the sermons of Jesus that emphasize fear, intolerance and hate.

Everyone knows that according to Jesus, the only way to get into heaven is to hate the gays.

[maryf]

7. I know of no sermons in which Jesus

advocated fear, intolerance, or hate...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

10. You don't???

Jesus said a lot of contradictory stuff. He was full of hate and intolerance and saw no problem with the mass slaughters in the Old Testament. The bible is pretty worthless as a moral guide, as a whole. It was edited and changed and censored for political reasons at the Council of Nicaea.

Of course, we don't know if Jesus even existed and all the accounts of his life were written 50 to 100 years after his death. Christians don't deal with the cruel Jesus very well. Jesus has no distinguishing characteristics that separate him from Mithra, Osiris or Apollo.



A few examples:

MATTHEW
While insulting the Pharisees and Sadducees, John the Baptist calls an entire generation a "generation of vipers." 3:7

Those who bear bad fruit will be cut down and burned "with unquenchable fire." 3:10, 12

Jesus says that most people will go to hell. 7:13-14

Those who fail to bear "good fruit" will be "hewn down, and cast into the fire." 7:19

"the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 8:12

Jesus tells his disciples to keep away from the Gentiles and Samaritans, and go only to the Israelites. 10:5-6

Cities that neither "receive" the disciples nor "hear" their words will be destroyed by God. It will be worse for them than for Sodom and Gomorrah. And you know what God supposedly did to those poor folks (see Gen.19:24). 10:14-15

Families will be torn apart because of Jesus (this is one of the few "prophecies" in the Bible that has actually come true). "Brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." 10:21

"Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." 10:33

Jesus says that he has come to destroy families by making family members hate each other. He has "come not to send peace, but a sword." 10:34-36

Jesus condemns entire cities to dreadful deaths and to the eternal torment of hell because they didn't care for his preaching. 11:20-24

"He that is not with me is against me." 12:30

"Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him." 12:31-32

Jesus often called people names. One of his favorites was to call his adversaries a "generation of vipers." 12:34

Jesus will send his angels to gather up "all that offend" and they "shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 13:41-42, 50

Jesus refuses to heal the Canaanite (Mk.7:26 says she was Greek) woman's possessed daughter, saying "it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs." 15:22-26

The ever-so-kind Jesus calls the Pharisees "hypocrites, wicked, and adulterous." 15:2-3

In the parable of the marriage feast, the king sends his servants to gather everyone they can find, both bad and good, to come to the wedding feast. One guest didn't have on his wedding garment, so the king tied him up and "cast him into the outer darkness" where "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 22:12-13

Jesus condemns the Jews for being "the children of them which killed the prophets." 23:31

Jesus blames his the Jews (who were then living) for "all the righteous blood" from Abel to Zecharias, 23:35

The servant who kept and returned his master's talent was cast into the "outer darkness" where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth." 25:30

Jesus tells us what he has planned for those that he dislikes. They will be cast into an "everlasting fire." 25:41

"His blood be on us, and on our children." This verse blames the Jews for the death of Jesus and has been used to justify their persecution for twenty centuries. 27:25



MARK

Jesus becomes angry at those who said that he had "an unclean spirit," so he announces the unforgivable sin: "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost." 3:29

Any city that doesn't "receive" the followers of Jesus will be destroyed in a manner even more savage than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. 6:11

Jesus initially refuses to cast out a devil from a Syrophoenician woman's daughter, calling the woman a "dog". After much pleading, he finally agrees to cast out the devil. 7:27

If you're ashamed of Jesus, he'll be ashamed of you. (And you'll go straight to hell.) 8:38

Jesus says that those that believe and are baptized will be saved, while those who don't will be damned. 16:16


===============

MATTHEW
While insulting the Pharisees and Sadducees, John the Baptist calls an entire generation a "generation of vipers." 3:7

Those who bear bad fruit will be cut down and burned "with unquenchable fire." 3:10, 12

Jesus says that most people will go to hell. 7:13-14

Those who fail to bear "good fruit" will be "hewn down, and cast into the fire." 7:19

"the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 8:12

Jesus tells his disciples to keep away from the Gentiles and Samaritans, and go only to the Israelites. 10:5-6

Cities that neither "receive" the disciples nor "hear" their words will be destroyed by God. It will be worse for them than for Sodom and Gomorrah. And you know what God supposedly did to those poor folks (see Gen.19:24). 10:14-15

Families will be torn apart because of Jesus (this is one of the few "prophecies" in the Bible that has actually come true). "Brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." 10:21

"Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." 10:33

Jesus says that he has come to destroy families by making family members hate each other. He has "come not to send peace, but a sword." 10:34-36

Jesus condemns entire cities to dreadful deaths and to the eternal torment of hell because they didn't care for his preaching. 11:20-24

"He that is not with me is against me." 12:30

"Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him." 12:31-32

Jesus often called people names. One of his favorites was to call his adversaries a "generation of vipers." 12:34

Jesus will send his angels to gather up "all that offend" and they "shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 13:41-42, 50

Jesus refuses to heal the Canaanite (Mk.7:26 says she was Greek) woman's possessed daughter, saying "it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs." 15:22-26

The ever-so-kind Jesus calls the Pharisees "hypocrites, wicked, and adulterous." 15:2-3

In the parable of the marriage feast, the king sends his servants to gather everyone they can find, both bad and good, to come to the wedding feast. One guest didn't have on his wedding garment, so the king tied him up and "cast him into the outer darkness" where "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 22:12-13

Jesus condemns the Jews for being "the children of them which killed the prophets." 23:31

Jesus blames his the Jews (who were then living) for "all the righteous blood" from Abel to Zecharias, 23:35

The servant who kept and returned his master's talent was cast into the "outer darkness" where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth." 25:30

Jesus tells us what he has planned for those that he dislikes. They will be cast into an "everlasting fire." 25:41

"His blood be on us, and on our children." This verse blames the Jews for the death of Jesus and has been used to justify their persecution for twenty centuries. 27:25


MARK
Jesus becomes angry at those who said that he had "an unclean spirit," so he announces the unforgivable sin: "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost." 3:29

Any city that doesn't "receive" the followers of Jesus will be destroyed in a manner even more savage than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. 6:11

Jesus initially refuses to cast out a devil from a Syrophoenician woman's daughter, calling the woman a "dog". After much pleading, he finally agrees to cast out the devil. 7:27

If you're ashamed of Jesus, he'll be ashamed of you. (And you'll go straight to hell.) 8:38

Jesus says that those that believe and are baptized will be saved, while those who don't will be damned. 16:16



LUKE
God strikes Zacharias dumb for doubting the angel Gabriel's words. 1:20

Those who fail to bear "good fruit" will be "hewn down, and cast into the fire." 3:9

John the Baptist says that Christ will burn the damned "with fire unquenchable." 3:17

Jesus heals a naked man who was possessed by many devils by sending the devils into a herd of pigs, causing them to run off a cliff and drown in the sea. This messy, cruel, and expensive (for the owners of the pigs) treatment did not favorably impress the local residents, and Jesus was asked to leave. 8:27-37

Jesus says that entire cities will be violently destroyed and the inhabitants "thrust down to hell" for not "receiving" his disciples. 10:10-15

Jesus says that we should fear God since he has the power to kill us and then torture us forever in hell. 12:5

Jesus says that God is like a slave-owner who beats his slaves "with many stripes." 12:46-47

"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 13:3, 5

According to Jesus, only a few will be saved; the vast majority will suffer eternally in hell where "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13:23-30

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man goes to hell, because as Abraham explains, he had a good life on earth and so now he will be tormented. Whereas Lazarus, who was miserable on earth, is now in heaven. This seems fair to Jesus. 16:19-31

Jesus believed the story of Noah's ark. He thought it really happened and had no problem with the idea of God drowning everything and everybody. 17:26-27

Jesus also believes the story about Sodom's destruction. He says, "even thus shall it be in the day the son of man is revealed ... Remember Lot's wife." This tells us about Jesus' knowledge of science and history, and his sense of justice. 17:29-32

In the parable of the talents, Jesus says that God takes what is not rightly his, and reaps what he didn't sow. The parable ends with the words: "bring them hither, and slay them before me." 19:22-27
John


Jesus believed the stupid and vicious story from Numbers 21. (God sent snakes to bite the people for complaining about the lack of foood and water, and then God told Moses to make a brass snake to cure them from the bites.) 3:14

As an example to parents everywhere and to save the world (from himself), God had his own son tortured and killed. 3:16

People are damned or saved depending only on what they believe. 3:18, 36

The "wrath of God" is on all unbelievers. 3:36

Jesus believes people are crippled by God as a punishment for sin. He tells a crippled man, after healing him, to "sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." 5:14

Those who do not believe in Jesus will be cast into a fire to be burned. 15:6

Jesus says we must eat his flesh and drink his blood if we want to have eternal life. This idea was just too gross for "many of his disciples" and "walked no more with him." 6:53-66

============================================

[theophilus]

11. Jesus speaking to other Jews under the Law of Moses is a complex matter.

I believe He said things to them that only they would understand and that apply to them in ways not applicable today. In short, "it's complicated". Jerusalem was to be destroyed in about a generation. Much of this language points to that destruction. The Temple would be destroyed thus destroying the Judaism of the time and closing the door on the past.

The idea of Hell is also very interesting to look into. Translators have played the "devil" with the text but truth can be determined. Gehenna is what Jesus is quoted as saying....the garbage dump outside the city of Jerusalem that was a place of "eternal" fires where the rubbish was burned. Much of the city wound up burning there after the destruction.

I know those who don't accept the teaching of Yashua can find plenty of reasons to continue that non-acceptance. There are plenty of progressive passages in the New Testament, though. More will become apparent as better translations appear. It offers hope to me. My opinion.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

13. New English Bible. Early 1970s.

New English Bible is what we used in college in our religion courses (Presbyterian college.)

Since reissued as the Revised English Bible. Went back to the original source texts and they were translated into English without all those steps through Greek and Latin.

[maryf]

12. Reading the red letter

I stand.

[kentuck]

8. The "eye of the needle" being another useful parable...

Whereas, through a certain architecture in that part of the world, the camel would have to get on its knees to get thru the low-hanging entrance...

[AlecBGreen]

9. If you like old school reggae...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZbPtHNqzU

James II in dub :)

Givin' out my warning...
Now you rich people listen to me
Weep and wail over the miseries
That are coming, coming up on you
Your riches have rotted away
And your clothes have been eaten by moth
Your gold and silver is covered with rust
And this rust will be witness against you
And eat up your flesh like fire
You have piled up your riches in these last days
But heads a go roll down sandy gully one of these days
Heads a go roll down sandy gully that's what Marcus says

Your life here on earth have been filled with luxury and pleasure
You have made yourself fat for the day of slaughter
You've not paid the men that work in your fields
The cries of those that gather your crops
Have reached the ears of Jah, Jah Almighty
Heads a go roll down sandy gully one of these days
Heads a go roll down sandy gully that's what Marcus says

Dog up a Beverley Hills a eat T-bone steak an' drink cornflakes
While poor people in the ghetto a-rake an' scrape to get a cake

Be patient my brother be patient as a farmer is patient
As he waits for the autumn and the spring rains to water his crops
You also must be patient and keep your hopes up high
Happy are those who greatest desire is to do what Jah Jah require

Heads a go roll down sandy gully one of these days
Heads a go roll downs andy gully that's what Marcus says
Bald head a go roll down sandy gully one of these days
Heads a go roll down sandy gully that's what Marcus says

I say; you look, you look, you look and you can't see...
I said; you listen, you listen, you listen and you can't hear...

p.s. if it sounds like its starting over halfway through, dont panic. Its dub, its supposed to do that :) crank it up and enjoy