The Jesus Agenda

POSTED BY JHW22

About a week and a half ago Desert Crone posted her take on Liberals and Christians. I agreed with a lot of what she said even though I am an atheist. So, as an atheist, I wanted to try to say the same thing, but with a different perspective. One that I formed over 30+ years as what I call, a Christian-magnet.

My parents raised me sans religion. They didn't raise me to not believe in God or to believe in God. In fact, I don't remember them really teaching or encouraging me much of anything when it came to religion and I am truly grateful for that. They raised me to be a clean slate to choose or believe what I alone am able to believe. The only true way to believe is to get there on your own.

But I had extended family and friends who had a huge impact on me when it came to forging what I did not believe. And for years, these people impacted in me in very negative ways. Without going into the drama and rants I would have loved to spew 10 or 15 years ago, I will summarize my early experiences this way: Christians are assholes.

That's what I came to believe. I couldn't believe how hateful, judgmental and hypocritical they were. WHY would I want to be part of their religion when I didn't like, agree with or even care to comprehend? Why would I want to be a fellow asshole?

Sadly, I thought this of some people in my life who I really should love.

Then, in college, I became friends with two wonderful women. They didn't try to make me something I wasn't or believe something I couldn't. Oh, they prayed for me to find whatever, but they didn't push. We would talk about religion and in our conversations, I felt a sincere desire to understand, not to believe, but to really understand them. Not their religion. I wanted to understand what made them want to believe. Although they didn't make a believer out of me, they did soften me to my hardened opinion of Christians as assholes.

And then I met my husband. My husband was raised in a liberal-minded, open-hearted Christian family. He doesn't consider himself a Christian, but if you knew him, you'd know he projects that which is ideally a Christian life - minus the acceptance of Christ as his savior. My husband, and his family became the new symbol of what a Christian can and should be. Seriously, his grandma, parents, uncles, aunt, cousins. They ALL walk the walk. And this stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't believe there were people who called themselves Christians, who led lives I could respect and they actually made the connection between their beliefs AND the ways they lived their lives EVERY DAY. Seriously. They didn't preach and judge me or anyone who didn't believe the same as them. Instead, they lived an example in a way I'd never imagined.

My husband's family was the first family I ever met who really lived what they said they believed.

And because of them, I really had to stop seeing Christians as assholes.

Since then, I have known many Christians who impress me. They support issues and causes and people that is perfectly in-line with their beliefs. None have converted me. I have no desire or need for a savior or a Heaven or forgiveness or any of that. But because of these wonderful Christians, I have worked hard at not labeling Christians as assholes. Not as a whole anyway.

That brings me to the distinction, that to me is quite simple. I love many Christians. And I despise many who call themselves Christians.

Jesus gave humans a to do list, or an agenda. It's not a hard list, or an impossible list. It doesn't require perfection. It requires simple tasks and thoughts. For someone to follow the agenda set forth by Jesus, one simply treats others well, cares for them, aides them. Easy peasy. The whole, "I'm not perfect, I'm forgiven" attitude is moot because Jesus didn't expect us to walk on water or perform miracles. Never did. He only "gives us what we can handle". Right? I mean, seriously, Jesus didn't ask us to be Him. He only set forth an agenda and hoped we'd follow it.

But when people who claim their principles are based on the Jesus agenda, put the Jesus agenda aside when it comes time to choosing elected leaders, when they choose a person who makes a career out of NOT doing the things on the Jesus agenda, and when they decide that there is a separate political set of principles that trumps their Jesus agenda, they essentially tell Jesus he's less important. YET, Jesus clearly states to render unto Caesar. And He never says, "Help the poor UNLESS..." or "Feed the hungry EXCEPT..." Jesus NEVER gave Christians an excuse to put His agenda on hold because of who was being asked to execute that agenda. Jesus NEVER gave Christians the option to not help people if helping meant helping via the government. He never said that if the government wants to help the poor people, using tax dollars, that Christians can or should choose otherwise. In fact, He makes it rather clear that Christians should be helping their neighbor despite any excuses.

So, that is why the many Christians I respect in my life tend to vote for liberal politicians, they support candidates who, using tax dollars or not, set policies that match the Jesus agenda.

When a Conservative politician says Americans can help the needy on their own dime, on their own time, and to leave government out of it, they say that the Jesus agenda is irrelevant. And that's where the irony/hypocrisy/bastardization comes in: when a party wants to put their faith INTO their politics then purposely eliminates the exact principles that define what they SAY Christians are about -- the teachings of Christ, the Jesus agenda -- that's the root of all their evil.

So when a Christian looks at candidates in an election year, they need to have their Jesus agenda handy. They need to look at which candidate supports policies that allow the Jesus agenda to be followed. They need to put away the concern over who will pay for it or how it will get done and just ask themselves which candidate's platform looks like the Jesus agenda. And they need to separate the number of times a candidate says "Jesus" or "God" or "pray". Because the agenda is less about the church a person goes to, or how vocal they are in their faith. The Jesus agenda is about acting, not preaching, it's about helping, not hindering. The Jesus agenda is about simple tasks that each of us can do and that each of us can elect others to do.

I am proud to say that I know more and more of the Christians who actually vote the Jesus agenda. And although I don't accept Jesus as my savior, I think his agenda is a pretty damn good one.

EDIT: After a good discussion with a friend, one who is a true moderate and a Christian, I posed this thought to Republicans

Republicans need to ask themselves if they are putting aside that which makes them Christian just to vote for that which makes them Republicans.

Liberals vs. Christianity

POSTED BY DESERT CRONE

I am taking a long and winding road in this post because I think it is important to understand my spiritual journey and beliefs to understand the message in this piece. Little did I know that this post would have its roots in something my Twitter friend @JKelton1 tweeted the other night. Basically, she said that if she made the same derogatory statements about Muslims that many liberals make about Christians she would be called out as a bigot. Yet many liberals think those same kind of statements about Christians are acceptable. What an amazing observation. My wheels started turning, and so many thoughts and ideas sprung from her statement. The criticism of Christians comes from liberal Christians, atheists, and followers of other faiths. I frequently see on my tweeter timeline other liberals questioning the intelligence of those of us who believe in God. I see Christians calling out other Christians for their hypocrisy. I think if many of us were honest our faith or lack of faith has taken a long arduous path through uncertainty, questioning, guilt, and enlightenment. The truth is that Christians are different in their own beliefs, in their definition of God, and even how they view the Bible. Yes, there are many liberals who practice the Christian faith, and we need to rejoice in the fact that in our political party we have people who actually walk the walk of Christ instead of talking.

As for myself, my faith is personal. I rarely debate anyone about faith or lack of faith. I am making a rare exception in writing this post. One reason I refuse to debate is because usually civil discourse disappears 5 minutes into the discussion. Faith or lack of faith is a very intimate decision often times based on emotion, although I’m sure there are many exceptions. If someone asked me if I were a Christian, I could not answer yes or no, but that is the kind of answer many people expect. To some the Bible is the literal Word of God, and we all worship the same God. They believe that folks are saved by God’s Grace and by accepting Christ as Lord and Master. So if that is the standard for Christianity, then I would say no, I’m not a Christian. However, I believe the Bible is the most beautifully written book in literature—and believe me, since I have both a BA and MA in English, I have read some magnificent literature. I do not take the Bible literally, but I follow the teachings of Christ. Well, at least I try to follow them. The Bible is filled with contradictions and possibly propaganda, but this is my opinion about which I could be wrong. For example, one reason I believe this is that the same creation myth appeared long before the story of Adam and Eve as well as the virgin birth in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Yet, I do look to the Bible for guidance. After the loss of my wonderful father and the onset of one health problem after another, I read the story of Job. Job is about faith, not patience, and my faith was taking a beating, not because I blamed God but because I couldn’t feel God’s presence. I also don’t believe in magic, and of course, the Bible is filled with what I call magic. However, many of my friends do believe in miracles, and I totally respect that. I do not listen to them with skepticism. Faith is faith, period. You can’t argue someone out of faith with logic or reason or facts. If you do, then what they had was not faith.

I grew up in a small Southern Baptist Church in the Bible Belt of southeastern New Mexico. My dad taught Sunday school, and we religiously attended church. My mother, not my dad, was the biblical scholar in the family, and every Saturday night she taught my dad the lesson he was going to teach Sunday morning. As long as I can remember, my mother was a self-proclaimed agnostic and possibly an atheist by the time she died. One Sunday after church when I was in high school, my dad, sister, and I walked out of church never to return again. My dad said, “I’m tired of walking out of church feeling worse than when I went into church.” Although I was baptized in that church, I vowed I would never set foot in that Baptist church or any other Baptist church again. I went off to college and drank myself right into alcoholism.

I’m not recounting my story other to say I got drunk, acted like an ass, felt like crap, and then started the process over again. Eventually, my husband, daughter, and I moved to a northern New Mexico town where they attended a small liberal church. They were always trying to get me to go to church with them, and I eventually acquiesced. We struck a deal that when I went to church, my husband would take us out for Sunday dinner. I attended church with them as I continued my downward spiral into both alcohol and drug addiction. Spidery veins covered my face and my stomach was distended. I looked 50 although I was only 38 years old.

One Sunday I, who had denounced God or declared Him dead, prayed for help with my drinking. No, I didn’t want to quit because I was not an alcoholic. I just wanted to drink without getting drunk and feeling like crap the next day. Why I thought of prayer as an answer I do not know. Well, one week later I was in a rehab center in Oklahoma City and on my way to 25 years of sobriety thus far. In my journey through the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, reading what we call the Big Book, and attending meetings, I began an amazing spiritual quest. That quest was only intensified when I helped other drunks find their way to AA. About now, you may wonder what this has to do with my topic—well, a lot actually.

A young man named Steve whom I taught in both junior high and high school got clean and sober not too much longer after I did. I adored that child. He helped me facilitate the recovery group for students. In that group we shared our strengths, hopes, fears, and experiences. Needless to say, I heard stuff that would make most people’s hair curl. One snowy day a friend called me with the tragic news that Steve had died in a car crash on a slick Colorado pass. He was clean and sober. His death was so devastating to me that I cannot write about it now without tears running down my face. His funeral was to be held at the First Baptist Church in this northern NM town—not my church, but a Baptist church, nonetheless. Of course, I attended with hundreds of others from the recovery community. I learned in AA that if I heard only one good thing in a meeting, then it was a good meeting. I just instinctively listened and heard one of the most beautiful sermons I have ever heard in my life. It was a good meeting.

My epiphany that day was that if I open my heart and mind to any spiritual message, I will hear what I need to hear. And so now I come full circle. Do I believe in Jesus Christ? Yes. Do I believe that He is the Son of God? I just don’t know because that is part of my continuing journey. Do I believe in Heaven? Again, I don’t know, but I believe in Heaven on earth. When I do something good for the underprivileged, when I bring someone into AA, when I look at my husband, my children and grandchildren, I experience Heaven. My Higher Power is not a cruel, angry, vindictive God so I don’t believe in Hell. He didn’t take Steve from me or his loved ones because He wanted him in Heaven. Steve died because the driver took an icy curve much too fast. I don’t believe my Higher Power works that way.

I cannot think of a faith in the traditional sense of the word that doesn’t practice love and compassion, and yet, throughout history, those religions have been held captive by extremists at some point. Followers have also committed countless acts of unimaginable cruelty. Sometimes we liberals who are so quick to point out the failings in Christians overlook those same failings in people who practice other religions. And yes today, as in other religious faiths, we have extremists who have captured the Christian faith.

It’s not my place to question anyone’s faith or lack of faith because you can see I’m a pretty unconventional Christian. I have believed what Christ admonished us to do in Matthew 6:5-6 long before Rev. Al read the passage on MSNBC in context to the Rick Perry revival meeting. I believe my relationship with my God is personal and private, and I will not denigrate that relationship by proselytizing to all around me. I won’t refer to the Rick Perrys of the world as hypocrites since I am a practicing hypocrite. I don’t want to be nor try to be, but I’m a human with all the accompanying weakness and character flaws.

So I tell my story about my spiritual journey to demonstrate that we are influenced by our experiences and individuality. Also, to illustrate that Christian thought is probably as varied as Christians themselves. It is a mistake to condemn Christianity and its believers for the unconscionable way some who profess Christian faith behave. Instead, judge them by their actions and words. If you do that, you will see neighbors, friends, and family who help others on a daily basis without the need for praise or recognition.

Happy Holidays Indeed

Looking for that eye catching Christmas decoration to put on your front lawn that will be the envy of the entire neighborhood? Then look no further than this wonderful treat from American Family Association.

Let Your "Light" Shine For Christ This Christmas Season!

Looking for an effective way to express your Christian faith this Christmas season to honor our Lord Jesus? Now you can.... with the "Original Christmas Cross" yard decoration.

...Decorate this holiday season with the Original Christmas Cross to remind your friends, family, neighbors, and all who drive by your home, office, or church of the real meaning of Christmas.

Because nothing says "Peace on Earth, good will towards men" like having a five and a half foot burning cross in front of your house.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Is Obama Christian Enough?

Whenever I hear someone ask about Barack Obama's religion or religious beliefs , I always ask, "Why is that important? What difference does it make?"

Would you refuse to vote for someone on the simple point of his or her religion? If the answer is 'yes' then you don't know your history.

Article Six of the US Constitution states that "...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. " Our forefathers, religious men all, knew of the consequences of a theocracy and actually wrote a directive in our soon to be 222 year old Constitution to prevent such a thing happening in the United States as it happens in Saudi Arabia or Iran.

The reason I bring this up is because when I hear supposed "Christians" like Cal Thomas not only question someone's Christianity, but whether they are "Christian enough", I shake my head in amazement.

In a column published last week, Cal Thomas took a verbal swing at Barack Obama's claim to be a committed Christian. "He can call himself anything he likes," wrote the syndicated columnist, "but there are certain markers among the evangelicals he is courting that one must meet in order to qualify for that label."

..."... [T]here is a clear requirement for one to qualify as a Christian and Obama doesn't meet that requirement," stated Thomas. "One cannot deny central tenets of the Christian faith, including the deity and uniqueness of Christ as the sole mediator between God and Man and be a Christian. Such people do have a label applied to them in scripture. They are called 'false prophets.'"

Oh really, Mr. Thomas? He has to meet with the approval of evangelicals to "qualify" as a Christian? And which evangelicals would those be? Do you happen to have a list? Perhaps we can start with the more Christian ones and work our way down, seeing as you know who the real Christians are and who are "false prophets."

A quick Google search of "Cal Thomas" reveals a few books he's written, his official website and various articles and appearances he's made on Fox News. His Wikipedia page reveals a very light biography stating that he was a reporter in the 60's and 70's and the Vice President of the Moral Majority from 1980-1985. There is no mention of schooling, whether secular or seminary.

And yet this man seems to know who is more Christian, less Christian or Christian at all. I don't claim to be a religious expert, but I'll defer to someone who commented on Thomas' website in regards to Obama's Christianity:

Posted by radar, June 20, 2008 4:36:41

First, let me say that I am a political moderate; with over 40 years voting, I have probably divided my votes equally between Republicans and Democrats, altho [sic] I have also voted for 3rd party candidates. I agree with Cal that no one should use their Christianity to gain political (or any other) advantage. While Obama may be headed that way, clearly the Republican Party has been doing this for years. I hope and pray that all guilty folks will stop, be they Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, black or white, or whatever. I also am moderate when it comes to my Christianity; my father and both grandfathers were ministers, and I have been in Baptist churches all of my 64 years, and currently serve as Chairman of Deacons in a Southern Baptist Church. Based on my 64 years of study and being taught at my ancestors' tables, I disagree with Cal as to our right to judge another person's Christianity; while we can judge someone's actions, to say someone is not a Christian when they profess to be is not our job. If someone who professes to be a Christian doesn't behave as a Christian, we certainly have a responsibility to confront that individual, but not to denounce him/her as being a non-Christian. I think Cal crosses the line when he writes that Obama is not a Christian.

Truly the Christian answer.

Perhaps it is Cal Thomas for whom we should be reserving the right to confront as "someone who professes to be a Christian but doesn't behave as a Christian." And even so, for the sake of argument, let's listen to those evangelicals Thomas speaks of and see what they have to say about those "certain markers... one must meet in order to qualify for that [Christian] label."

From the Washington Post:

This month, the Illinois senator held a closed-door meeting in Chicago with almost 40 Christian leaders, including evangelical heavyweights such as the Rev. Franklin Graham, publishing magnate Steve Strang and megachurch pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes.

..."I've never seen anything quite like it before," said evangelical author Stephen Mansfield, who wrote "The Faith of George W. Bush" and has a forthcoming book about Obama. "To be running against a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, and to be reaching into the Christian community as wisely and knowledgeably as (Obama) is -- understanding their terms and their values -- is just remarkable."

Strang wrote in a blog, Obama "won over the loyalties of many. He came across as thoughtful and much more of a 'centrist' than I would have expected," Strang wrote, adding that he hopes McCain will host a similar gathering.

It seems that the religious evangelical leaders that met with Senator Obama were impressed by him, much more so than a crackpot like Cal Thomas would have been, with his preconceived ideas and his notion that he can decide who is a Christian and who is not. The fact is that Cal Thomas is a political tool, a pundit hiding in evangelical clothing, casting doubt on those he is told to cast doubt upon. He is a reporter, and a hackish one at that, using lies and smears for his political agenda. Is that how a Christian acts?

And speaking of acting like a Christian, if you're not planning on voting for Obama because of a religious question, that leaves John McCain. And is McCain a Christian? A man who cheated on and divorced his first wife after finding out she had a disfiguring car accident while he was a POW? A man involved in a savings and loan scandal that robbed thousands of their retirement funds and cost the US taxpayer $3.4 billion? A man who was tortured for five and a half years during the Vietnam War and spoke out against torture his entire life in public service until it was politically convenient for him to vote against a ban on waterboarding? Is that the kind of "Christian" man you would vote into the Oval Office?

As the first lines of the Cal Thomas/Obama smear e-mail I received state, "Please read this and take this coming election very seriously. Please pray about how you will vote." And for those of you who do pray, I hope you will pray for the strength to vote for what you believe is right, and not for what you are told to believe is right.


Also read: Keep Cal Thomas Away From Your Kids

Rep. Steve King Goes Batty

Rep. Steve King was on... wait for it... FOX NEWS today to rip into the nine Democrats that voted no on his Christianity resolution; the same Steve King that voted against a resolution for Ramadan and Diwali. It was a classic Fox hit job with the host "mm-hmm"ing and "yeah"ing every word uttered by Congressman Christmas.

Check out the video at Think Progress.

Funny that King didn't mention the 10 other members who voted "present" because they could care less about the meaningless resolution and the 40 other members who didn't even bother to vote. Interesting how the crackerjack host didn't bring up the fact that more Democrats voted for the resolution than Republicans (a fact I'm not proud of). Ah, good ol' Faux News spreading the Christmas cheer.

In response to King's challenge on wanting to know why the liberal nine voted no, Rep. Alcee Hastings ripped King a new one regarding the resolution as “another sad attempt by conservative Republicans to skew the line between church and state” and said this:

America is not a Christian nation. It is a nation of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and everyone in between. Our diversity is our strength and those who seek to use religion as a litmus test are doing a disservice to all of us.

As for the “assault on Christianity,” all someone has to do is visit a shopping mall, turn on the radio or TV or look at the Christmas trees sitting on the front lawns of the White House and the United States Capitol to realize that no such assault is underway.

Rep. Steve King: another in the growing list of losers that need be ousted from office.

I, Steve King, a Psychotic Am

One of the major reasons the Democrats have given for not persuing articles of impeachment is the fact that it would take too long, and Congress would get little to nothing else done in the process. Well I'm glad that they have time for this little resolution because I don't know how the American people have gotten by without it so far.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) plans to take the House floor today and introduce a bill (HR 847) recognizing the “importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.”

A spokesman for King told ThinkProgress that the bill was introduced in response to previous resolutions recognizing the Muslim celebration of Ramadan and the Hindu Diwali.

I shit you not. This is an actual resolution brought to the floor by a religious nutbag who couldn't stand the thought of other religious observances getting an offical resolution (also idiotic) in a country that has a federal holiday on December 25th, where some form of Christianity accounts for over 75% of the religious denominations and where 1/3 of the entire world is Christian. Do we really need a resolution to say Christmas is good? What a taxpaying waste!

The votes are in:

The House passed this bill today. The vote, surprisingly, was 372-9, with 10 members also voting "Present," meaning they took no position on the legislation, and 40 not voting. One of the "Present" votes was cast by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.). More Democrats -195 - voted for the bill than Republicans, 177.

The nine members who voted against the bill - God bless them! - are Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Bobby Scott(D-Va.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.).

Well, that's a relief. Since we can't get these bastards to go after the criminal syndicate occupying the White House, I suppose I'll petition for Kwaanza to be next. I wonder how that vote will go?

Which Came First: The Chicken or JESUS?!

What is wrong with The View? Or I suppose I should ask, what is wrong with the women on The View? ... Wait, let me be even more specific: What the hell is wrong with the stupid women on The View and who the hell is interviewing them for these high paying co-host jobs? Surely, it can't be Barbara Walters, can it?

First we had to deal with Elisabeth Hasselbeck's ridiculousness, and now we have the talented Sherri Shepherd. Ms. Shepherd apparently slept through history classes... for her entire school career. It's bad enough the evolution denier didn't know if the world was flat, but now comes this gem:

Discussing whether Christians were around during Epicurus' time (Epicurus lived from 341-270 B.C.), Sherri chimed in, "[The Greeks] had Christians 'cause they threw them to the lions."

When Whoopi tried to cautiously navigate her through the timeline of basic world events, saying, "I think this might predate that," Sherri responded, "I don't think anything predated Christians." Joy's attempt to explain the Greek-Roman-Christian chronology was futile, as Sherri insisted, "Jesus came first before them." Sherri's argument was all the more powerful due to her convincing "use your finger to write on the table" trick, but she can't fight the facts.

I suppose "B.C." only registers to Shepherd as a Hasselbeck nickname: "Bitch! Chill!"

Did Sherri never hear the term "Before Christ"? Even a religious wingnut knows Adam and Eve were before Christ. Could you imagine the short circuiting in her head if you show her comparisons between Christianity and the Pagan religions that pre-date it? Her teeny, little brain would probably fizzle and pop like a Christmas light.