May 2005

5/7/2005 --

Are we a Christian Nation or Not?

With the wrong wing's desire to legislate morality and the idea that America is to be a Christian nation, I thought I should discuss this overzealous movement. First, I have nothing against the idea that America is a Christian nation -- none whatsoever. Because I believe that we can live with the Christian ideals that Jesus laid out for us and still have religious freedoms. Where I disagree with the religious fundamentalists in this country is when they wish to pick and choose how they will follow Christ.

In Mark 12, Jesus is asked by the scribes, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "... You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength."¹

Have you ever met a religious fundamentalist? I don't mean seen one on TV, I mean up close and personal. Have you looked in their eyes? I can honestly say that their eyes are full of hate and loathing for those they wish to "save". A few years ago, I went to a gay pride fest and I met one of these so-called followers of God. I could see the hate in his eyes. I wonder how you love your Lord and God with your heart, soul, mind and strength when you are filled with so much hatred for your fellow man. Can you carry around hate and still love God?

And, it isn't just the anti-gay people who carry around hatred for their fellow citizen. Ever talk to a church going racist? There are many of them who can point to biblical passages on why the races shouldn't intermingle. Please don't think the Christian racist is a breed which has died out -- they haven't, they're just quieter now.

Further in the same passage, Jesus said, "The second [commandment] is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "²

When are you showing that you love your neighbor when you don't support social programs that will give your neighbor a helping hand? When are you showing love of your neighbor when you sign into law a program that makes it harder for people to file for bankruptcy -- especially when 50% of bankruptcies are caused by medical bills and approx. 30% are caused by job loss? How is that loving your neighbor?

How is supporting a Social Security plan that will leave many worst off, loving your neighbor? How is supporting legislation that denies rights to a specific group because you don't agree with the way they were born, loving your neighbor?

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."³

If we do not properly educate our young...

If we do not reach out a helping hand to those less fortunate...

If we do not stand together to support and love one another, we are denying the existence of Jesus' greatest commandments. And, we are not a Christian nation.

Finally, just another shameless plug... I've placed new Anti-Bush Products up on my website. Please take a look at them. Purchasing these products helps keep this site from being another one of those bogged down with pop-up ads websites!

God Bless,

Julie

1. Mark 12:28 - 30. Quoted from New American Bible Catholic Book Publishing Co, New York 1992 {Return}

2. Mark 12:31. Quoted from New American Bible Catholic Book Publishing Co, New York 1992 {Return}

3. Matthew 25:40. Quoted from New American Bible Catholic Book Publishing Co, New York 1992 {Return}

5/11/2005 --

The babies are here, the babies are here. To view info, click here!

5/14/2005 --

Have you heard of this man: Creflo A. Dollar?

He runs the World Changers Church International, which has houses of worship all over the globe. Anyway, Business Week has devoted this week's issue to Evangelical Churches, causes, etc. So, they interviewed Pastor Dollar¹.

According to Pastor Dollar, God wants us all to be rich and poverty is some sort of punishment for sin. If poverty was punishment from sin, the guys who ran Enron into the ground would be poor and their hard working employees would still have enough to live on. Where does this guy get this stuff?

He says (and I'm quoting him directly from the online article): "Poverty is a curse. We have tried to equate humility and poverty, but it's just not sound. It's a curse. Jesus came to set us free from the curse of the law. Sin, death, sickness, and poverty are parts of that curse."

Really, Jesus came down to free us from poverty? That's not in my Bible. According to Mark 14:3-9, Jesus said the poor would always be with us. Don't remember the passage? Well, here it is:

³And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. ⁴But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? ⁵For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply.

⁶But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. ⁷For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. ⁸She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. ⁹Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."²

Over two thousand years of Christianity and it all comes down to these new evangelical preachers who distort the word of God for their own good. Speaking of distorting the word of God, Pastor Dollar claims that God wants us to be rich and he states that he gets this from Psalms 35 & 37... Go read them, I did. I don't see where God says he wants us all to be rich and driving Rolls Royces...

Speaking of Rolls Royce...

It should be noted that Pastor Dollar drives a Rolls Royce and travels in a private jet. Much like Jesus didn't do when He was still here. I seem to recall our Lord and Savior riding into town on an ass. My, things have changed! (In Pastor Dollar's defense, he claims that the Rolls Royce was a gift from his congregation.)

But, I don't want to pick on just Pastor Dollar. No, I want to comment on all of the new megachurches. Let's pick on Willow Creek Church in IL. They have built an auditorium in order to hold their services -- there are no pews or hymnals and, according to the Business Week report, no cross.

No cross? What kind of church doesn't show a cross? The cross is the biggest symbol of Christianity. There is no more universal sign that you are a follower of Jesus than if you wear a cross around your neck.

I have another problem with this feel-good churches... Almost all of their pastors drive large cars, earn big paychecks and preach the word of God in fancy suits. They call it progress, I call it the beginnings of the Anti-Christ.

How can we follow Jesus' sandal covered feet in Italian leather shoes? How can we begin to feel His suffering when there are no crosses hanging on the walls to remind us? How do we remember His call to love our neighbor when the Pastor is preaching that earning lots of money is a good thing?

The Evangelicals beginning to overtake our country. They are pushing for their own agendas that can only destroy the fabric on which this nation was built. We need to fear this movement to take over the American Government by the so-called Religious Right. If we, the real Christians in this nation, do not wake up and smell the rot of the approaching Pharisees, then America will be forever lost. The first bastion of true freedom and democracy that the world has ever known will be left to the followers of the Anti-Christ. Those who push their own agenda and not the true agenda of Christ are the modern day Pharisees and Sadducees. And, we all know what Jesus had to say about them:

⁵Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." ⁷And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." ⁸But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? ⁹Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ¹⁰Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." ¹²Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.³

If we allow the Pharisees and Sadducees to overtake our great nation, we will not be able to recognize the true Christ when He returns. We will not be able to enjoy the freedoms that our founding fathers, and all our troops since then, have fought to preserve. We need to maintain our separation of church and state which our constitution supports and Jesus said was to be.

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. ¹⁶And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. ¹⁷Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

¹⁸But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show Me the tax money."

So they brought Him a denarius.

²⁰And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"

²¹They said to Him, "Caesar's."

And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." ²²When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.⁴

God Bless,

Julie

1. To see the entire interview, go here: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_21/b3934016_mz001.htm

5/27/2005 --

The Right wing can't take the heat! -- Big surprise there!
Thomas DeLay is on the warpath. Apparently, the season finale of Law and Order: Criminal Intent had the following line in it: "Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt."

Oooh, stop the presses! The writers of LAO:CI have sent a dig DeLay's way! Oh, my word, what is the world coming to when we can't insult our public officials. I'm sure if the line had been "Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Ted Kennedy T-shirt." no one would be complaining. This shouldn't even rate a headline on the CNN website, but it did.

DeLay has written a letter to NBC stating: "This manipulation of my name and trivialization of the sensitive issue of judicial security represents a reckless disregard for the suffering initiated by recent tragedies and a great disservice to public discourse." (According to both FoxNews.com and CNN.com.)

It must be a slow news day that this is even a headline.

With all of DeLay's ethic violations, it seems to me that he is just trying to send fire into another direction. I don't have a complete list at my finger tips, but one of the violations is that he paid members of his family $500,000 money out of his campaign fund.

According to the website Red Morals, DeLay is not the only Republican with major ethic violations, but you'll never hear the right wing mention them. And, before I get comments of not mentioning Democrats with the same issues -- yes, I know there are, but they usually have to step down and Republicans merely try to change the rules so they don't have to.

Okay, on a totally different note -- Have you heard of Max Barry? He wrote a book called Jennifer Government. If you haven't read it -- you should. Anyway, he runs a website called Nation States that's pretty cool -- you get to run your own country. So, check out my nation: The Republic of Eskie. If you like what you see, start a nation of your own. It's a cool diversion from everyday life. Oh and if you join, drop me an email and let me know. I'll come check out your nation.

God Bless,

Julie