paulbern77
paulbern77's JournalIs The US Finally Ready For Revolution?
Is America Ready For Revolution?
I have always strongly believed that it's not possible to be a good Christian without standing up against social injustice and government corruption in all its forms. As I take a look around me today I find a lot of things wrong with our country. In fact, I have been a proponent for radical change for several years now, and I have written and published 2 books on this very topic. Where shall I begin? In God-blessed America, the land of the free where everyone is an economic slave, our founding fathers' sacred idea of a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" has become but a cruel joke. Former president George W. Bush has notoriously called our Constitution – our supreme law of the land – "that (expletive) piece of paper". The federal government is currently spending at least $60 billion per month on military excursions in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and northern and western Africa – including operating between 800 and 1,000 foreign military bases all over the world. Our country's over-used flying drone aircraft kills hundreds daily overseas, many of whom are only innocent bystanders.
Meanwhile here on the home front, one in seven people are on food stamps, and at any given time one in four American children are going hungry today. Our country spends more money incarcerating people than it does on education. What's up with that? Our political system is openly rigged against the best interests of the American people. A massive market mechanism is securely entrenched in our political system where political influence is openly bought and sold. Tens of thousands of highly-paid middlemen called "lobbyists" facilitate the legal transfer of billions between moneyed special interests and our so-called "representatives" in Congress. This very lucrative business of buying and selling political influence has become the driving engine of our government. Our so-called "representatives" in Congress vie for millions in legal bribes in return for delivering billions of our tax dollars to moneyed special interests. It's pure folly to think our current political system could possibly look out for the best interests of the American people.
Just ponder what our government has done to us (not for us) in the last ten years alone. It's utterly mind boggling. The best interests of the American people have been sacrificed to moneyed special interests time and time again. The banking industries paid millions in bribes for a legal license to steal billions from the American people. When greed got them in trouble, our so-called "representatives" gave them billions more of our money. After the health insurance industry paid its bribes, our so-called "representatives" refused to even consider single-payer coverage, despite its proven track record of providing cheaper, superior health care, and providing it to all citizens equally.
Instead, millions of Americans will continue to suffer (or go bankrupt or die) for lack of health insurance. I know this to be true because it has happened to me as well. If any policy would significantly reduce the profits of moneyed special interests, it's simply designated "off the table" by our so-called "representatives". In the last ten years, our so-called "representatives" shared nearly a billion dollars in bribes from the "defense" industry. In return, they doubled our defense budget to $700 billion (equal to all other countries combined!) and lied us into unnecessary, endless, expanding wars that will ultimately cost us trillions. This is aside from the extreme human costs of war with multiple consecutive deployments. For example, 1 in 5 returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have permanent psychiatric disabilities so severe that they will never work again. Speaking as a minister and lifelong peace activist, I find this to be utterly reprehensible on the part of the US military (Be all you can be? Yeah, right.)
Our so-called "representatives" are cutting social spending just when the American people need it most. Yet they continue to spend hundreds of billions on weapons of mass destruction to "protect us" from our enemies. But most of our "enemies" are purposely created by our government's blatantly unjust foreign policies (that openly support regimes that oppress millions of human beings) and by our violent military occupations of their homelands. Without a perpetual supply of "enemies", "defense" industry profits would plummet. If that weren't enough, our so-called "representatives" have worked hard to keep America the number one weapons merchant on earth. Our so-called "representatives" continue to support the sale of billions in weapons to oppressive regimes around the world, which creates still more "enemies", which creates more special interests profits, etc.
Our current political system guarantees our so-called "representatives" will continue to pass and sustain legislation that transfers billions of our hard-earned tax dollars to moneyed special interests. That's because members of Congress who oppose moneyed special interests are promptly punished, ostracized, or replaced (if their offense is great enough). For example, dare to oppose the AIPAC and your days in Congress are numbered. Just ask any congressman, starting with your own. Furthermore, our current political system guarantees both moneyed special interests and our so-called "representatives" must participate in this influence-peddling scam against the American people, mainly because they'd be stupid not to. Big corporations would be at a competitive disadvantage (and would likely resort to cheating their shareholders to replace lost profits) if they refused to buy political influence. Likewise, our so-called "representatives" would be at a competitive disadvantage getting elected or staying in office if they refused to sell political influence.
The upcoming national elections this fall are merely melodrama for the masses. Our "choices" have all been pre-chosen for us by moneyed special interests pumping millions into the process. Besides, whoever wins will be forced to play by established political rules that guarantee moneyed special interests will always come ahead of the American people's best interests. For weeks before the elections, the lackey mainstream media (using colorful pundits) entertain us with political melodrama. They arouse us by pitting one segment of the American people against another. They make millions bombarding us with empty, emotional, 30-second TV ads that are little more than name-calling or patriotic platitudes. Congressional elections are sheep fighting among themselves for their favorite pre-chosen wolves. Congressional elections merely determine which segment of the America people gets screwed by which moneyed special interests group.
Trying to reform our current political system using that very same corrupt system is just futile folly. It's like trying to fix your broken arms using your broken arms. It's like trying to start a car that is out of gas. Our current political system is designed to be reform proof. It has well-established mechanisms to protect and maintain the status quo. That's why "campaign finance reform" and all other such efforts to "reform" our current political system from within are doomed to either fail outright or be so watered-down as to be useless. All these outrageous government actions are exactly what we should expect from a government openly for sale to the highest bidder. “We the people” are just government-controlled fodder for moneyed special interests. Moneyed special interests paid for these outrageous government actions, and they got what they paid for. We, the people, got screwed. I have the solution to this problem, and it can be found in any English dictionary.
rev-o-lu-tion (Dictionary.com) 1. an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.
Our country's elections amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. We can't vote our government back to us. A peaceful, people's revolution is the only way we can take back our government. The multi-billion dollar business of buying and selling political influence (currently the driving engine of our government) must be overthrown, repudiated and thoroughly replaced if democracy is to survive in America. This massive influence-peddling scam must become our number one political issue because it underlies and thus greatly affects all other issues. If we don't get big money out of our politics, our democracy and our standard of living will continue to decline and surely we'll take the rest of the world down with us.
We can't afford to sit by like sheep meekly waiting for slaughter. We must find ways to hinder and harass the corporate state at every turn. Nothing will change unless we, the people, begin to organize radical acts of civil disobedience to disrupt our current political system, upping the ante until this massive influence-peddling scam is thoroughly exposed and eliminated. For example, in Iceland they arrested over 100 bankers recently after throwing the old government out of office peacefully but effectively. The citizens stood in the streets and banged on pots and pans, and they didn't stop until they got what they wanted. Then they wrote a new constitution and passed it into law. It's been reported all over the European press but largely censored here in the US. Is it any wonder? If there were enough people inspired by what happened in Iceland, it could happen here next. Well, what does the elite capitalists want? They can either allow what happened over there to happen here, or America will turn into another Greece, Spain, Ireland or Portugal. Or maybe even another Egypt or Syria. The only way to prevent this from occurring here is that “we the people” must take back our government by peaceful revolution because it will never be given back voluntarily. Remember what President John F. Kennedy said: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
The Immigration Debate: Counterpoint
Immigration Issues And The Golden Rule
I am posting this in keeping with President Obama's decision this past week to take a more merciful stance on immigration. We all know, or at least have heard of, the story of the Good Samaritan as told to us by Jesus Christ. I recall mentioning it in last week's sermon, but this week I'm going to point this in a different direction. I won't quote the entire parable verbatim because my posting today is about how it applies to the subject of so-called “illegal immigration”. If I put the story into modern terms I can cite two different examples, one of how this could work out and the other as it actually did.
A certain traveler from a foreign country was making their way through the US seeking to find suitable work and re-establish themselves in their newly adopted country. While on their journey, this hapless foreign national gets jacked up, beat up, and left semi-conscious and bleeding on the side of the road. A short while later a religious leader and church pastor who are passing by see the beaten and now-penniless victim, pause for a moment and say a quick prayer, and continues on their way. A few minutes after that, a well-paid IRS agent passes by the man and doesn't even bother to stop and help even though he/she could have easily afforded to do so. An hour or two later, after this crime victim has been lying bleeding, severely injured and baking in the hot sun, a homeless man happens upon this person. This street person from the impoverished inner city (fill in the blank with the city of your choice) cleans up the victim's wounds as best as he can and then dials 911 on his/her prepaid mobile phone, summons medical assistance to that location, and waits for the ambulance to arrive while protecting this luckless individual from further injury and harm. Once the ambulance has picked the injured person up and taken them to the nearest ER, the homeless person who helped the injured traveler goes on their way, enjoying a quiet satisfaction within themselves at the good deed they have done. But they say nothing to anyone about it, not wanting accolades or applause from anyone, but only to do good and to be merciful towards all God's children. Blessed are the merciful, Jesus said, for they will be shown mercy.
Allow me to now present a somewhat similar story from the Internet, but the outcome is altogether different. A person from Central America gets severely injured in an auto accident through no fault of his own. He spends a lengthy time in the hospital recovering from his injuries and racks up a $1 million dollar-plus medical bill. In the end, he is deported to his country of origin because he was here illegally, even though he was still an invalid at the time of his deportation.
Basically, the Florida hospital had taken care of an “illegal immigrant” from the country of Guatemala for a period of almost three years at a cost of $1.5 million dollars. The hospital requested and received permission from the court to physically remove the patient from the hospital and send him back to Guatemala. The purpose of the posting was to get people riled up over so-called “illegal immigrants”. It basically states our rising health-care costs are totally due to caring for illegals, which simply isn't true, but that's a subject for another day. When I was reading the posting I wondered why this person had been hospitalized for a period of almost three consecutive years, and why the total cost was so low. I've been in the hospital a few times lately and $1,100/day barely gets you a bed, much less sheets and a pillow. At any rate, in the eyes of God there is no such thing as an illegal human being, and I think that those who think otherwise would do well to let go of their “wild west” ways. I say again – there is no such thing as someone who has no right to be here. At any rate, the foreign national's injuries happened as follows:
On April 5, 2000 a drunken Donald Flewellen, age 52, driving on a revoked license, borrowed a neighbor's vehicle and was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Fort Pierce, Florida. This accident resulted in two deaths and left Luis Jimenez, our Guatemalan illegal, a paraplegic with brain injuries. At the time of the accident, Flewellen had only been out of jail for four months for his previous conviction of two counts of DUI manslaughter. It appears Luis Jimenez was approximately 28-years-old at the time of the accident and in his early 30's when the Florida court approved his return to Guatemala, where he is now residing in a small mountain village in a one-room house with his mother. I'm curious as to how Americans would feel if the situation was reversed. What would happen if one of our youngsters was in a foreign country, legally or illegally, and suffered brain damage, and became a paraplegic at the hands of a foreigner, a foreigner who should have been in prison? What would you feel like if you were a mother and had your son returned to you, in the condition Luis Jimenez is in, and were expected to care for him for the rest of his life without any assistance or funds to provide assistance?
One of my pet peeves is Internet and MSM articles that take a stand on a subject without bothering to providing all the facts. The bottom line on this particular subject was – had the family of Luis Jimenez appealed the court decision on this case, Jimenez would still be in this country, and we would be “forced” to provide him with medical care. Decisions regarding the status of illegals are Federal, and State courts simply do not have the authority to remove individuals from this country whether they are here legally or illegally. Over and over again, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that illegal immigrants have the same constitutional rights as U.S. citizens and, until that is changed, federal law prevails.
Aside from the legal aspect is the moral aspect and morally, this country caused the injuries to this young man and it is our obligation to care for his needs. We are, after all, a Christian nation, are we not? Didn't Jesus heal the sick? Then we should be doing likewise, and those who disagree with me on this point have forgotten their Christian heritage, lost touch with their humanity, or both. When I was a kid, I was taught that kindness wasn't a choice, it was a command. It wasn't something you considered doing; it was an automatic reaction that came straight from the heart. We just did it because that's what Jesus would have us do. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
Let me be absolutely clear about what I regard as a travesty of justice. Immigrants, whether they are here legally or not, are not invaders from another country. They are economic refugees. I will use Mexico as an illustration, although the man in the story is from Guatemala. The average blue-collar worker in Mexico has a take-home pay in Pesos that is equal to about $50.00 a month in US dollars. When any given migrant worker comes to the US and takes a job at minimum wage, that works out to a net pay after taxes of about $840.00 per month for a single person, more than a sixteen-fold increase over what they used to make. Now, let us ask ourselves this basic question: if we were offered a job in our profession in Canada, for example, at sixteen times our current pay rate, any one of us would naturally be eager for the chance, is that not correct? Now you know why so many economic refugees from the third world are coming here, and it's not just from Mexico or Guatemala. They seek economic opportunity just like anyone else would, and it is a level of opportunity available in few places elsewhere.
So why does this issue upset so many people? America is and always has been a nation of immigrants. There has never been a time in American history when this was not so, not even in WWII. Every time we welcome one more immigrant into America, we take on the role of the Good Samaritan all over again. And that is a role we should all continue to emulate everywhere we go.
You Have Mail, And It's From God
What If Jesus Wrote A Letter To America?
If Jesus wrote a letter to the US population, what would He say to us? It would go something like this: Woe to you American Christians! You say I'm the "son of God" and yet you bully the defenseless, wage religious wars disguised as anti-terror campaigns, and trample the vulnerable underfoot in my name. Do you understand the parable of the Good Samaritan? Allow me to refresh your memory.
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?" The man answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!" The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus then replied with a story:
"A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Washington to New York when he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A rich man walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised African-American came along, one who had just been released from prison, and when he saw the man he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the ex-con soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he used his transit card and took him by bus to the homeless shelter where he was staying, where he took care of him. The next day he paid for a single night, telling the folks running the shelter, 'Here is the money for a night's stay here. I'm going to work as a day laborer early tomorrow morning, so please take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.' "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."
In case you missed the point of that parable as I'm quoted as telling it in the book of Luke, it was that the theologically correct evangelical born-again "saved" passed by on the other side of the road when confronted with a human being in need. It was the "unsaved" theologically incorrect foreigner, today's equivalent of your agnostics, Muslims, gay men and women, minorities and people of color, the unloved and the outcast who stopped and did my Father's will and took care of the injured man.
Put it another way: Did you miss the point when I said that those who come to me saying "Lord, Lord we followed you and believed correctly" are the very ones that I will cast out of the Kingdom of Heaven, since they did not care for the least of these, the downtrodden, the poor and the oppressed? Did you get it when I said that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the humble, and the outcasts; those who mourn and to the poor in spirit? Who do you think will inherit the earth: the wealthy leaders of your colossal mega-churches or the downtrodden gays, minorities, peace activists, “occupyers”, foster kids, ex-cons, the mentally ill, and others who are scorned and mocked by society? Whose side do you think God is on: the bullied and outcast or the powerful religious leaders with their false smiles? Who will qualify for calling themselves my sons and daughters: The meek who mourn or the proud who say: "Lord, I thank you that I'm not like these gay men and women and these illegal immigrants, and these lazy poor people who deserve no health care and these Muslims?" You hypocrites! Don't you get it?
You say you take everything in the Bible seriously and yet you ignore all the many verses about divorce and adultery and somehow paper that over because a majority of America buys into divorce now and you don't want to lose your congregations. And half your pastors and religious leaders are divorced and remarried. But you stick it to gays and minorities because they are easy to pick on! Why wax moralistic about one thing you call sin and yet stick it to a minority? For instance, I actually broke the biblical law when I said that the people who brought me the adulterous woman should not stone her to death. In other words I said: "forget what the Bible says, only kill her if you're perfect." Well, no one was so they quit picking on her and left her alone. Since then I've given my followers that as a reason to ignore the dumb, harsh, and sometimes mistranslated parts of the Bible.
Did you get it when I said that if you lust in your heart it's the same as committing adultery? You twisted my words to make it seem as if I'm a moralistic "Church Lady" like you idiots, but I intended the exact opposite! What I meant was that since everyone lusts anyway, the difference between how we think and feel regarding temptation and what we do is painfully obvious in terms of how God sees us. The whole point was that we're not to judge other people because we ourselves think the same thoughts. So no one is better than anyone else. Remember what I said in my sermon on the mount? “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7, verses 1-2, NIV)
You judgmental holy rollers are like banks always making a mistake in their own favor! Why do religious so-called conservative Americans always pick on the little guy, the disenfranchised, blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, pregnant women, gay people? I'll tell you why! Because you are bullies! You are the Pharisees passing by on the other side of the road, those who are so sure you're saved because of some nonsense that you believe in my name. Wrong! You American Christians utterly defaced the name of Christianity with your racism, your slavery and your bigotry against women. And now you're doing it again in your war against gays and Muslims, your bogus drug war, and in your economic war against the poor who have no health care. Some of you even have had it as part of your wicked program to reestablish the Biblical law demanding death to gay people that I clearly showed must be broken by the greater law of love. Well, as you judge so you will be judged. Good luck with that!
Do you think the Kingdom of God is more likely to belong to a wealthy "Christian" leader who preaches hate and exclusion (even when saying "hate the sin but love the sinner"
or to the least of these, the disenfranchised who want nothing more than to enjoy the same rights of other citizens? Do you think God does not see that the poor have no care and die because your greedy (lying) insurance lobby has your so called Congress in their pockets? You hypocrites and liars! You say you're preaching my gospel when my Gospel never was about correct belief or correct behavior. My gospel was about loving God, not judging others, making room for everyone at the table, and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. If gays and minorities are your enemy then, as you know, I commanded you to love them! And if they are asking to be allowed to marry I commanded you to give to him who asks of you! Besides, you don't own America. This is a democracy and yours is just one opinion. How did it come to this?
How do those who claim that they serve and represent me misuse the Bible to the extent that they make bumper stickers and coffee mugs calling for the death of the President by misquoting Psalm 109.8? (By the way, in case you want to know, he's doing his best to follow the law of love right now, even though it's almost impossible to do that because the fool who ruled before him --- talk about a burning Bush! --- left the biggest mess since the fall of Jerusalem in the year AD 70!)
Do you think I am on the side of a those who want to make the First Lady of the United States (who happens to be a favorite daughter of mine!) a widow and the daughters of the President orphans as this Psalm is misconstrued to "call" for? You American Christians utterly defaced the name of Christianity with your racism, slavery and your bigotry against women. And now you're doing it again in your war against gays and minorities, your “drug war” which is little more than open warfare against your own citizens, and in your economic war against the poor and those who have no health care. You are like the Pharisees I used to know and who strained out the least gnat of others' so-called misbehavior while turning a blind eye to their own wickedness, hypocrisy and lies. Remember my sayings about taking the beam out of your own eye before removing the speck from your brother's?
Quit worrying about gays and minorities and start worrying about your so-called churches, those ash heaps of stinking bigotry and hate. The way you hate your first black president is all I need to know about you. So stop worrying about other people's "sins" and start worrying about all the lies you are telling your children in my name! And all your talk about patriotism will do you no good unless you love every American as you love yourself – including gay Americans, poor people, the mentally ill, the disenfranchised and yes, women who have abortions and the “illegal” immigrants. And who do you think you are criminalizing my Father's creations in the first place? They ask mercy of you! Give to them! Or did you miss that part of my teaching too?
Do you really think I'm on the side of those who hate others? Have you forgotten what my Apostle John wrote? “If anyone says, 'I love God', and yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1st John 4,:20, NIV) It's as if you are crucifying me again! The point is to have a chance to sanctify love in every generation. If I walked here on Earth again with you, you'd kill me again, just as you are going to kill all that is good in my name, just as some of you are praying for the death of your president who you even call "Anti-Christ." Let me tell you who is Anti-Christ: Christian "saved" America, meaning those who are too busy taking care of themselves to have time for anyone else. You are so religious on Sunday mornings, and yet you all turn into selfish, demonic pigs during the week. So depart from me, come up with a new name for whatever you are, and drop the word "Christ" out of your name. You've destroyed my reputation.
You Have Mail, And It's From God
What If Jesus Wrote A Letter To America?
If Jesus wrote a letter to the US population, what would He say to us? It would go something like this: Woe to you American Christians! You say I'm the "son of God" and yet you bully the defenseless, wage religious wars disguised as anti-terror campaigns, and trample the vulnerable underfoot in my name. Do you understand the parable of the Good Samaritan? Allow me to refresh your memory.
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?" The man answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!" The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus then replied with a story:
"A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Washington to New York when he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A rich man walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised African-American came along, one who had just been released from prison, and when he saw the man he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the ex-con soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he used his transit card and took him by bus to the homeless shelter where he was staying, where he took care of him. The next day he paid for a single night, telling the folks running the shelter, 'Here is the money for a night's stay here. I'm going to work as a day laborer early tomorrow morning, so please take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.' "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."
In case you missed the point of that parable as I'm quoted as telling it in the book of Luke, it was that the theologically correct evangelical born-again "saved" passed by on the other side of the road when confronted with a human being in need. It was the "unsaved" theologically incorrect foreigner, today's equivalent of your agnostics, Muslims, gay men and women, minorities and people of color, the unloved and the outcast who stopped and did my Father's will and took care of the injured man.
Put it another way: Did you miss the point when I said that those who come to me saying "Lord, Lord we followed you and believed correctly" are the very ones that I will cast out of the Kingdom of Heaven, since they did not care for the least of these, the downtrodden, the poor and the oppressed? Did you get it when I said that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the humble, and the outcasts; those who mourn and to the poor in spirit? Who do you think will inherit the earth: the wealthy leaders of your colossal mega-churches or the downtrodden gays, minorities, peace activists, “occupyers”, foster kids, ex-cons, the mentally ill, and others who are scorned and mocked by society? Whose side do you think God is on: the bullied and outcast or the powerful religious leaders with their false smiles? Who will qualify for calling themselves my sons and daughters: The meek who mourn or the proud who say: "Lord, I thank you that I'm not like these gay men and women and these illegal immigrants, and these lazy poor people who deserve no health care and these Muslims?" You hypocrites! Don't you get it?
You say you take everything in the Bible seriously and yet you ignore all the many verses about divorce and adultery and somehow paper that over because a majority of America buys into divorce now and you don't want to lose your congregations. And half your pastors and religious leaders are divorced and remarried. But you stick it to gays and minorities because they are easy to pick on! Why wax moralistic about one thing you call sin and yet stick it to a minority? For instance, I actually broke the biblical law when I said that the people who brought me the adulterous woman should not stone her to death. In other words I said: "forget what the Bible says, only kill her if you're perfect." Well, no one was so they quit picking on her and left her alone. Since then I've given my followers that as a reason to ignore the dumb, harsh, and sometimes mistranslated parts of the Bible.
Did you get it when I said that if you lust in your heart it's the same as committing adultery? You twisted my words to make it seem as if I'm a moralistic "Church Lady" like you idiots, but I intended the exact opposite! What I meant was that since everyone lusts anyway, the difference between how we think and feel regarding temptation and what we do is painfully obvious in terms of how God sees us. The whole point was that we're not to judge other people because we ourselves think the same thoughts. So no one is better than anyone else. Remember what I said in my sermon on the mount? “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7, verses 1-2, NIV)
You judgmental holy rollers are like banks always making a mistake in their own favor! Why do religious so-called conservative Americans always pick on the little guy, the disenfranchised, blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, pregnant women, gay people? I'll tell you why! Because you are bullies! You are the Pharisees passing by on the other side of the road, those who are so sure you're saved because of some nonsense that you believe in my name. Wrong! You American Christians utterly defaced the name of Christianity with your racism, your slavery and your bigotry against women. And now you're doing it again in your war against gays and Muslims, your bogus drug war, and in your economic war against the poor who have no health care. Some of you even have had it as part of your wicked program to reestablish the Biblical law demanding death to gay people that I clearly showed must be broken by the greater law of love. Well, as you judge so you will be judged. Good luck with that!
Do you think the Kingdom of God is more likely to belong to a wealthy "Christian" leader who preaches hate and exclusion (even when saying "hate the sin but love the sinner" or to the least of these, the disenfranchised who want nothing more than to enjoy the same rights of other citizens? Do you think God does not see that the poor have no care and die because your greedy (lying) insurance lobby has your so called Congress in their pockets? You hypocrites and liars! You say you're preaching my gospel when my Gospel never was about correct belief or correct behavior. My gospel was about loving God, not judging others, making room for everyone at the table, and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. If gays and minorities are your enemy then, as you know, I commanded you to love them! And if they are asking to be allowed to marry I commanded you to give to him who asks of you! Besides, you don't own America. This is a democracy and yours is just one opinion. How did it come to this?
How do those who claim that they serve and represent me misuse the Bible to the extent that they make bumper stickers and coffee mugs calling for the death of the President by misquoting Psalm 109.8? (By the way, in case you want to know, he's doing his best to follow the law of love right now, even though it's almost impossible to do that because the fool who ruled before him --- talk about a burning Bush! --- left the biggest mess since the fall of Jerusalem in the year AD 70!)
Do you think I am on the side of a those who want to make the First Lady of the United States (who happens to be a favorite daughter of mine!) a widow and the daughters of the President orphans as this Psalm is misconstrued to "call" for? You American Christians utterly defaced the name of Christianity with your racism, slavery and your bigotry against women. And now you're doing it again in your war against gays and minorities, your “drug war” which is little more than open warfare against your own citizens, and in your economic war against the poor and those who have no health care. You are like the Pharisees I used to know and who strained out the least gnat of others' so-called misbehavior while turning a blind eye to their own wickedness, hypocrisy and lies. Remember my sayings about taking the beam out of your own eye before removing the speck from your brother's?
Quit worrying about gays and minorities and start worrying about your so-called churches, those ash heaps of stinking bigotry and hate. The way you hate your first black president is all I need to know about you. So stop worrying about other people's "sins" and start worrying about all the lies you are telling your children in my name! And all your talk about patriotism will do you no good unless you love every American as you love yourself – including gay Americans, poor people, the mentally ill, the disenfranchised and yes, women who have abortions and the “illegal” immigrants. And who do you think you are criminalizing my Father's creations in the first place? They ask mercy of you! Give to them! Or did you miss that part of my teaching too?
Do you really think I'm on the side of those who hate others? Have you forgotten what my Apostle John wrote? “If anyone says, 'I love God', and yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1st John 4,:20, NIV) It's as if you are crucifying me again! The point is to have a chance to sanctify love in every generation. If I walked here on Earth again with you, you'd kill me again, just as you are going to kill all that is good in my name, just as some of you are praying for the death of your president who you even call "Anti-Christ." Let me tell you who is Anti-Christ: Christian "saved" America, meaning those who are too busy taking care of themselves to have time for anyone else. You are so religious on Sunday mornings, and yet you all turn into selfish, demonic pigs during the week. So depart from me, come up with a new name for whatever you are, and drop the word "Christ" out of your name. You've destroyed my reputation.
The USA Is The World's Most Christian Country -- Or Is It?
How Christian Is The USA – Really?
The United States has always had a time-honored tradition of being a Christian nation. In fact, our founding fathers from George Washington on down were overwhelmingly Christian. Our great country was founded on religious freedom by the early Pilgrims, who were escaping religious persecution by the church of England. Ever since then, the tradition of Christianity (regardless of whether you belong to a church denomination or not) has been passed down through the generations until modern times. This has continued up until the present generation. Within the last generation or so, particularly within the last 10 or 20 years, there has been a noticeable drop in church attendance throughout North America and Europe. People have been wandering away from their faith in droves. Churches are losing members at about the same rate in which they are gaining new ones, the end result being what amounts to a revolving door of membership and participation. I have been aware of this for some time and it really bothers me, and so I have been contemplating the reasons for this diminishing of faith within the church.
A journalist once asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought of Western civilization. He answered: "It's a good idea. They ought to try it". Similarly, we might urge followers of world religions: "Some nice moral principles. You ought to live them." Reliable polls tell us that America is the most religious nation in the industrialized world. More that 90 percent of our population say they believe in God, and that they pray regularly. In his New Testament Epistle, James expressed the Christian view that "faith without works is dead." Similarly, Judaism calls for "mitzvahs" -- good deeds. And Islam requires acts of charity. How do these sentiments translate into action? Let's look at our national religious behavior report card.
We are a religious nation, and yet: America is the world's richest nation. Yet the Census Bureau reports that 54 million Americans live in poverty. That includes one in four children.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The U.S. poverty rate is the third worst among developed nations according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Demographers say that the poverty rate will rise this year from 15 percent to 21 percent which will be the highest percentage since the government began calculating poverty figures in 1959. Forty million American are on food stamps (the highest ever) and the number is expected to rise to forty nine million by the end of 2012.
We are a religious nation, and yet: According to the Census Bureau, 19 million people lived in working-poor families in 2008. The 2010 census showed a much higher figure approaching 24%. The Feeding America network reports that only 36 percent of their client households have one or more adults working.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless on any given night. Here in Atlanta where I reside, estimates of the homeless population on any given night range from 10,000-30,000 people. Also, a new class has emerged in America: the working homeless. The current minimum wage of $7.25 hourly is insufficient income to rent an apartment, let alone buy a house.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The elderly, the poor and others on fixed incomes are often forced to choose between food and medicine. Speaking as a retired technology professional and an Internet pastor, this is a social outrage and an economic injustice that I have personally experienced. If you are not out in the streets protesting about this, you should be because you could be next. I used to think that something like that would never happen to me, either. I found out the hard way that I was wrong. Don't make the same mistake I did.
We are a religious nation, and yet: 50.2 million Americans, including 17.2 million children, experienced hunger or the risk of hunger in 2009. That's 14.7 percent of all households. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hunger in American households has nearly doubled in the last five years. As I write this in mid-2012, this number has swelled to at least 54-56 million, and the number of underfed kids is approaching 20%. In the richest country in the world, this is inexcusable! We have to do something, and by writing this I'm trying to help accomplish exactly that.
We are a religious nation, and yet: American restaurants throw away more than 6000 tons of food every day and grocery stores discard an estimated thirty million pounds of food daily. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Loss Project estimates that Americans throw out 25.9 million tons of food each year. More disturbing: a University of Arizona study reports that 40 to 50 percent of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten. America's wastefulness is downright sinful, there is no better word to describe it.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn't provide healthcare for all its citizens. So-called “Obamacare” promises to correct much of that but it is under assault and could be repealed or cut way back. That could return us to the 2005 Census Bureau figures that showed 46.5 million Americans, including 12 million children, with no health insurance .
We are a religious nation, and yet: We have the best medical technology and treatment capability in the world. Yet the United States ranks 37th for health system performance by the World Health Organization.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The latest report on life expectancy shows a slight drop in the United States that will place us even lower than the current ranking of 49th among nations of the world – a lower life expectancy than many less developed countries. A Columbia University study attributes our decline from 11th place in 1950 to the much lower present ranking to our inadequate profit-driven healthcare system.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The current minimum wage of $7.25 hourly, which was raised from $5.15 four years ago, still keeps families hovering at or below the poverty line. France, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, England, the Isle of Man, and many other nations have a higher minimum wage than we do.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The latest census figures show the gap between rich and poor widening to the largest margin ever. The top 20 percent of workers earning more than $100,000 a year received 49.4.percent of all income compared with the 3.4 percent earned by the bottom 20 percent.. The richest 1 percent pockets more than 20 percent of total income which is greater than the total amount earned by the bottom 50 percent. Economic inequality – not just in the US but globally – is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, and when it does, the greed-based capitalist economic system we are currently stuck with will have to submit to a complete make-over or face extinction.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The wealthiest segment of the population is fighting tooth and nail for lower tax rates and other tax breaks while joblessness, poverty, crime, homelessness and hunger are rampant in America.
We are a religious nation, and yet: In 1994 a million innocents were slaughtered in Rwanda. We watched and did nothing. Similarly, we did little to stop the genocide in Darfur. Further slaughter is now ongoing in Syria and Greece while the world watches and does nothing. Will the U.S. intervene on humanitarian grounds? History does not suggest a positive answer.
We are a religious nation, and yet: There are at least 59 holocaust museums in the United States dedicated to raising awareness of the Nazi genocide and to help prevent similar horrors from happening again. Add to that the numerous holocaust museums and memorials around the world. Yet genocides, mass murders, and other atrocities such as the sex slave trade persist. Who is listening, who is learning? Who is acting?
We are a religious nation, and yet: Americans make up 5 percent of the world population and produces 25 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, which are raising the earth's temperature ("greenhouse effect" to dangerous levels.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Fossil fuel consumption is destroying the planet, but we refuse to develop a "Manhattan Project" for alternative energy.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Scientists warn that the environmental doomsday clock is ticking. The icebergs are breaking away and melting before our eyes, revealing islands we never saw before. We watch and debate but do too little to preserve the environment for ourselves and future generations. In our hubris we forget that we are guests on a tiny rock floating--in an infinite universe of rocks-- that uniquely supports life in a delicate balance of natural and mysterious forces.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Smoking continues to compromise the health of more than 20 percent of our population who still smoke. The Surgeon General tells us that smoking, in addition to contributing to a number of cancers, increases the risk of almost every known disease. The American Lung Association reports that each day nearly 6,000 children under 18 years of age start smoking. But we refuse to put an end to smoking. At the same time, cannabis is still illegal while having been proved to be harmless.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Leaders of some of our biggest corporations, as well as prominent investment advisers (men and women of "faith" , have cheated, deceived and destroyed their companies and clients, ruining the lives and futures of untold numbers of individuals and families.
We are a religious nation, and yet: We have the largest prison population in the world. Currently more than 2.7 million people are incarcerated; and 1 in every 18 adults is in prison, on parole or probation adding up to a total of 9.3 million. The U.S has a greater prison population (in percentage of population) than a number of countries that we consider in violation of human rights.
We are a religious nation, and yet: According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, world military spending for 2009 reached $1.531 trillion, a six percent increase over 2008 and a forty-nine percent increase over the year 2000. The United States accounted for forty-six percent of the total world military expenditure ($661 billion). China was a distant second accounting for 6.6. percent followed by France's 4.2 percent, the UK's 3.8 percent and Russia's 3.5 percent. The proposed U.S. military budget for 2012 is $750 billion. Nice job, Washington!
What is religion? Organized religion is a multi-billion-dollar business disguised as a honeycomb of non-profits (actually, more like a hornet's nest). On the other hand, followers of Jesus – who Himself was crucified mainly because he preached against organized government and organized religion – exercise the very essence of true Spirituality by showing love, caring, serving, giving, sharing, oneness, brother and sisterhood, compassion, empathy and selflessness. Summed up: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." I'm so glad that we are a religious nation.
The USA Is The World's Most Christian Country -- Or Is It?
How Christian Is The USA – Really?
The United States has always had a time-honored tradition of being a Christian nation. In fact, our founding fathers from George Washington on down were overwhelmingly Christian. Our great country was founded on religious freedom by the early Pilgrims, who were escaping religious persecution by the church of England. Ever since then, the tradition of Christianity (regardless of whether you belong to a church denomination or not) has been passed down through the generations until modern times. This has continued up until the present generation. Within the last generation or so, particularly within the last 10 or 20 years, there has been a noticeable drop in church attendance throughout North America and Europe. People have been wandering away from their faith in droves. Churches are losing members at about the same rate in which they are gaining new ones, the end result being what amounts to a revolving door of membership and participation. I have been aware of this for some time and it really bothers me, and so I have been contemplating the reasons for this diminishing of faith within the church.
A journalist once asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought of Western civilization. He answered: "It's a good idea. They ought to try it". Similarly, we might urge followers of world religions: "Some nice moral principles. You ought to live them." Reliable polls tell us that America is the most religious nation in the industrialized world. More that 90 percent of our population say they believe in God, and that they pray regularly. In his New Testament Epistle, James expressed the Christian view that "faith without works is dead." Similarly, Judaism calls for "mitzvahs" -- good deeds. And Islam requires acts of charity. How do these sentiments translate into action? Let's look at our national religious behavior report card.
We are a religious nation, and yet: America is the world's richest nation. Yet the Census Bureau reports that 54 million Americans live in poverty. That includes one in four children.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The U.S. poverty rate is the third worst among developed nations according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Demographers say that the poverty rate will rise this year from 15 percent to 21 percent which will be the highest percentage since the government began calculating poverty figures in 1959. Forty million American are on food stamps (the highest ever) and the number is expected to rise to forty nine million by the end of 2012.
We are a religious nation, and yet: According to the Census Bureau, 19 million people lived in working-poor families in 2008. The 2010 census showed a much higher figure approaching 24%. The Feeding America network reports that only 36 percent of their client households have one or more adults working.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless on any given night. Here in Atlanta where I reside, estimates of the homeless population on any given night range from 10,000-30,000 people. Also, a new class has emerged in America: the working homeless. The current minimum wage of $7.25 hourly is insufficient income to rent an apartment, let alone buy a house.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The elderly, the poor and others on fixed incomes are often forced to choose between food and medicine. Speaking as a retired technology professional and an Internet pastor, this is a social outrage and an economic injustice that I have personally experienced. If you are not out in the streets protesting about this, you should be because you could be next. I used to think that something like that would never happen to me, either. I found out the hard way that I was wrong. Don't make the same mistake I did.
We are a religious nation, and yet: 50.2 million Americans, including 17.2 million children, experienced hunger or the risk of hunger in 2009. That's 14.7 percent of all households. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hunger in American households has nearly doubled in the last five years. As I write this in mid-2012, this number has swelled to at least 54-56 million, and the number of underfed kids is approaching 20%. In the richest country in the world, this is inexcusable! We have to do something, and by writing this I'm trying to help accomplish exactly that.
We are a religious nation, and yet: American restaurants throw away more than 6000 tons of food every day and grocery stores discard an estimated thirty million pounds of food daily. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Loss Project estimates that Americans throw out 25.9 million tons of food each year. More disturbing: a University of Arizona study reports that 40 to 50 percent of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten. America's wastefulness is downright sinful, there is no better word to describe it.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn't provide healthcare for all its citizens. So-called “Obamacare” promises to correct much of that but it is under assault and could be repealed or cut way back. That could return us to the 2005 Census Bureau figures that showed 46.5 million Americans, including 12 million children, with no health insurance .
We are a religious nation, and yet: We have the best medical technology and treatment capability in the world. Yet the United States ranks 37th for health system performance by the World Health Organization.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The latest report on life expectancy shows a slight drop in the United States that will place us even lower than the current ranking of 49th among nations of the world – a lower life expectancy than many less developed countries. A Columbia University study attributes our decline from 11th place in 1950 to the much lower present ranking to our inadequate profit-driven healthcare system.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The current minimum wage of $7.25 hourly, which was raised from $5.15 four years ago, still keeps families hovering at or below the poverty line. France, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, England, the Isle of Man, and many other nations have a higher minimum wage than we do.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The latest census figures show the gap between rich and poor widening to the largest margin ever. The top 20 percent of workers earning more than $100,000 a year received 49.4.percent of all income compared with the 3.4 percent earned by the bottom 20 percent.. The richest 1 percent pockets more than 20 percent of total income which is greater than the total amount earned by the bottom 50 percent. Economic inequality – not just in the US but globally – is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, and when it does, the greed-based capitalist economic system we are currently stuck with will have to submit to a complete make-over or face extinction.
We are a religious nation, and yet: The wealthiest segment of the population is fighting tooth and nail for lower tax rates and other tax breaks while joblessness, poverty, crime, homelessness and hunger are rampant in America.
We are a religious nation, and yet: In 1994 a million innocents were slaughtered in Rwanda. We watched and did nothing. Similarly, we did little to stop the genocide in Darfur. Further slaughter is now ongoing in Syria and Greece while the world watches and does nothing. Will the U.S. intervene on humanitarian grounds? History does not suggest a positive answer.
We are a religious nation, and yet: There are at least 59 holocaust museums in the United States dedicated to raising awareness of the Nazi genocide and to help prevent similar horrors from happening again. Add to that the numerous holocaust museums and memorials around the world. Yet genocides, mass murders, and other atrocities such as the sex slave trade persist. Who is listening, who is learning? Who is acting?
We are a religious nation, and yet: Americans make up 5 percent of the world population and produces 25 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, which are raising the earth's temperature ("greenhouse effect" to dangerous levels.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Fossil fuel consumption is destroying the planet, but we refuse to develop a "Manhattan Project" for alternative energy.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Scientists warn that the environmental doomsday clock is ticking. The icebergs are breaking away and melting before our eyes, revealing islands we never saw before. We watch and debate but do too little to preserve the environment for ourselves and future generations. In our hubris we forget that we are guests on a tiny rock floating--in an infinite universe of rocks-- that uniquely supports life in a delicate balance of natural and mysterious forces.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Smoking continues to compromise the health of more than 20 percent of our population who still smoke. The Surgeon General tells us that smoking, in addition to contributing to a number of cancers, increases the risk of almost every known disease. The American Lung Association reports that each day nearly 6,000 children under 18 years of age start smoking. But we refuse to put an end to smoking. At the same time, cannabis is still illegal while having been proved to be harmless.
We are a religious nation, and yet: Leaders of some of our biggest corporations, as well as prominent investment advisers (men and women of "faith" , have cheated, deceived and destroyed their companies and clients, ruining the lives and futures of untold numbers of individuals and families.
We are a religious nation, and yet: We have the largest prison population in the world. Currently more than 2.7 million people are incarcerated; and 1 in every 18 adults is in prison, on parole or probation adding up to a total of 9.3 million. The U.S has a greater prison population (in percentage of population) than a number of countries that we consider in violation of human rights.
We are a religious nation, and yet: According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, world military spending for 2009 reached $1.531 trillion, a six percent increase over 2008 and a forty-nine percent increase over the year 2000. The United States accounted for forty-six percent of the total world military expenditure ($661 billion). China was a distant second accounting for 6.6. percent followed by France's 4.2 percent, the UK's 3.8 percent and Russia's 3.5 percent. The proposed U.S. military budget for 2012 is $750 billion. Nice job, Washington!
What is religion? Organized religion is a multi-billion-dollar business disguised as a honeycomb of non-profits (actually, more like a hornet's nest). On the other hand, followers of Jesus – who Himself was crucified mainly because he preached against organized government and organized religion – exercise the very essence of true Spirituality by showing love, caring, serving, giving, sharing, oneness, brother and sisterhood, compassion, empathy and selflessness. Summed up: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." I'm so glad that we are a religious nation.
Worrying Is Pointless
Why Worry Is A Waste of Time
I got the idea for this sermon on a portion of Matthew chapter six after experiencing an 11-day period in which my server, and then my Internet access, both failed in the same week. After replacing the power supply and main logic board in the server, it took my Internet Service Provider (a certain Fortune 100 company who shall remain nameless lest I get sued) 5 agonizing days to correct a malfunction in some newer and faster hardware that I ordered and installed. Although I was furious with my ISP and their inept response to my problem, I realized there was nothing I could do about it, at least for that day. So I made several trips to the local library to stay caught up on my emails while I worked on another book back home in the evening. My point here is that I had a choice – I could either waste time and grow more frustrated waiting for my problems to be fixed, or I could take a proactive approach and use the down time for other projects. We can either sit around and serve time waiting, or we can make the time available to us serve us. Life has taught me that chilling out and hoping things get better is a cop-out because it's tantamount to taking the easy way out. Anybody can do that, but being lazy and idle, or feeling defeated, will only make the situation worse.
I ascertained early on in my situation of being off-line and temporarily unable to get much work done that worrying about my inability to access my websites wasn't going to solve anything. That got me to thinking about some sensational things I've seen on the Internet lately – the possible collapse of the dollar, the possibility that the Occupy and 99% Movements of which I am proud to be a part could be targeted for prosecution for political reasons, and the constant reminder that the Middle East situation as it currently stands could explode into all-out war any day. Then there is the more far-out stuff people worry about such as all the conspiracy theories, claims of space aliens, the fictional planet Nabiru, insistence that the world will end on December 21st, 2012, and let's not forget comets and asteroids while we're at it. Then again, there are millions of good people out there who have real stuff to be greatly concerned about, such as being unable to find suitable work – or any work at all – or who may be facing the loss of a vehicle and a home as a result of unemployment. If people waste time worrying about this and all other things over which we have little control, is it any wonder that so many people take anti-depressants and mood-stabilizing drugs? It's time for us all to pause for a moment and take a deep breath and then slowly exhale. See? That's not so bad. Now let's all take the next step together and put all this into perspective from Jesus' point of view. Worrying is a waste of time. This sounds simple enough, but it can be hard to do in the world in which we live today. It is easy to get stressed out by all the things going on around us. The cure for all this can be found in Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 through 34.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body; what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith? So do not worry, saying 'what shall we eat', or 'what shall we drink', or 'what shall we wear'? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NIV)
There is plenty to worry about in life, and all to varying degrees. We take a chance every time we drive a car, or even when we simply step out of our homes. The chances of being in a traffic accident are higher then, say, being in a plane crash or struck and killed by a meteorite falling from the sky. Worry is based on fear of the unknown. It is one of the most basic human emotions. But worry and stress can be brought under control by using the methods that Jesus taught from the scripture I quoted above. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life; what you will eat or drink, or about your body; what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” The message Jesus was giving us here is that we need to prioritize correctly and understand what is most important. We can stop worrying when we start getting what is most important in its correct order in life. He is putting first things first. Life is more important than food. Better to be alive and hungry than to be dead. Jesus goes on from there: ”Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” To call this a profound question would be an understatement.
Worrying is useless! Stressing out is pointless! There is documented medical evidence that this is so. It raises your heart rate, your respiration and your blood pressure. Stress and worry can give you a heart attack or a stroke. I should know, I was fortunate enough to survive a stroke several years ago and I learned my lesson. I can truthfully say that I am at a point in life where I just don't let things bother me like I did when I was younger. Doing so can only make each of us die a little younger, so why go to such trouble? Worry is a negative emotion. Negative emotions produce negative symptoms like anxiety. Anxiety produces all kinds of ailments including physical, emotional/psychiatric and spiritual. Anxiety and worry can make you go crazy. They can literally make you sick.
The thing to do instead is to replace all the negativity associated with worry and turn it into something positive. Take the anxiety, the worry and the stress and replace them all with the peace of Christ, understanding that worrying can't change the outcome of anything. St. Paul wrote that the peace of Christ was “a peace that surpasses all human understanding”. Once we occupy ourselves with the task of attaining this Peace – and yes, it is definitely a reachable goal – you will find that the worry and stress you've been suffering from for God-knows-how-long, is suddenly not worth the time it's been taking up. There are simply not enough hours in the day to be bothered with one single minute of worry, stress and anxiety.
But what did Jesus say to do instead? “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well”. We need to get our priorities straight. God first, above all else. If we're not taking this crucial first step then we are missing the mark. This means letting go of our hatreds, our fears, our anger, and our irrational need for material possessions. Why do we need a bigger house, faster car or new clothes? Remember what Jesus said: “Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Indeed we are, in God's sight. Just knowing this can alleviate a lot of stress and worry. For example, does it scare you to think about what might happen if things in your life were to get completely out of control, even through no fault of your own? Hey, that's normal for a lot of people, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. The key is to learn to let go of our pride and the notion that it's up to us to solve our own problems, and let God take charge. He can do so much more than we can anyway.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. This is what I call the pure genius of Christ. You may not hear of Jesus being spoken about like that, but it's the truth. Jesus wants us to stop worrying about things that don't matter and to focus on the things that do. He wants us to not be anxious or stressed out about things that may be beyond our control. The things that matter the most are the things that matter to God. The things that matter only to us are the things that matter the least. Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Instead of worrying about bad things happening, take whatever steps you need to take to make sure good things happen in their place. We need to keep in mind that God is in charge. Paul wrote in the New Testament, “If God is for us, then who can be against us?” This is the ultimate antidote to worry and fear. We really need to stop being so fearful, especially when it is to the point where fear prevents us from becoming all who we are meant to be. Fear can actually prevent us from succeeding and can hold back our development as individuals. That's why replacing worry with the peace of Christ is a crucial first step towards banishing worry from our lives for good.
I have simply made up my mind to stop wasting time worrying and to start living well. God has already given each of you the power to do the same. To tap into this power, just follow the example of Christ. To learn how to do that, get a Bible and start reading it. All the answers are right there. Knowledge of God, wrote King Solomon in the Book of Proverbs, is the beginning of all wisdom. So if you want to be smarter or if you simply want to enrich yourself, there is a very good place to start.
Worry is a negative emotion. It eats us up inside and keeps us from growing. We waste our time worrying about whether something bad is going to happen or not. In 99% of the cases it turns out that what we worried about never occurs anyway. We can all fight worry with anticipation. Join with me and follow Christ's example by anticipating the future as a series of opportunities, expecting a positive outcome rather than a negative one. You will be surprised at the difference this makes. Besides, anticipating the future in a positive way is so much more fun than sitting around worrying. Banish worry from your life today. It's an important first step towards personal growth. Follow Christ's example and He will guide you, pray for guidance and your prayers will be answered. Until next week, keep this in mind in your everyday living and live without worry.
latest book on the Occupy and 99% Movements is now available
"Occupying America: We Shall Overcome", is the latest book offering from author and publisher Paul J. Bern. This 294 page book is easily the most comprehensive and thorough report documenting the Occupy Wall St. and the "We Are The 99%" Movements yet published. The book concludes by predicting mass civil unrest this spring and summer all across the US., and that these populist movements are going to get much bigger. Published in March by Salt and Light Publishing, this book can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or from the Second American Revolution website at www.2ndar.org/book_sales_and_speeches for just $14.95 plus shipping. Enjoy!
Economic inequality has reached its tipping point
Is Human Equality Ordained By God?
Since the dawn of time itself mankind has been plagued by inequality. The first instance can be found in the Bible in the book of Genesis. Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to God, and God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's because Cain offered his sacrifice with an impure heart. So Cain became jealous of Abel and killed him in the first murder in recorded history. As time marched on and the earth's population grew, tribes and nations rose up against each other and took prisoners who then became slaves, and the industry of human trafficking was born as master lorded it over slave, marking the advent of mass inequality. This social and societal scourge of inequality grew exponentially throughout the ages, with the beginning of the end of slavery marked by the end of the American civil war of the 1860's. Today, although the institution of slavery has faded into history, human sex trafficking and smuggling of illegal aliens continues to thrive, and both are a form of slavery and social injustice as far as I am concerned. As such they are both absolutely immoral.
In the late 1700's, the French revolution was happening in Europe at about the same time that the American Revolution was unfolding in colonial America. These two separate but related events in human history marked the beginning of the popular concept of human equality. The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln heralded the next significant step towards social equality as it criminalized slavery. But nothing more occurred for another 80 years, until the US military ended racial segregation within its ranks in 1948. At about the same time, Mahatma Ghandi initiated a new equality movement in India that resulted in India's independence from Great Britain. By the 1950's the US civil rights movement began gaining momentum, led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. Dr. King was, first and foremost, a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was from the Bible that he obtained much of his inspiration for the American civil rights movement, although he also used the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as frames of reference to add justification to the American social upheaval that he thankfully instigated. And so this week's sermon will highlight three passages from the Bible that Rev. Dr. King no doubt used for his own inspiration, and here is the first one.
“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written, 'He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.'” (2 Corinthians 8: verses 13-15 NIV)
“...Your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality...”. St. Paul, who wrote these words nearly 2,000 years ago, is saying that we are to be mutually beneficial to one another when it comes to our physical and/or material needs and wants. Under no circumstances is any one person or group to have significantly more necessities than any other person or group, nor may any one person or group acquire an excess of anything at the expense of any other. There is no reason other than pure selfishness for one person or group to have a surplus of food while another goes hungry. There is no reason for one to have plenty of clean clothes to wear while another is dressed in rags, or to have a warm coat while another has none, except that certain people find themselves excluded from any opportunity they could have to improve themselves, to aspire to be something or someone more than they currently are, just so others can have more. There is no reason other than pure selfishness for one person or group to have a roof over their head while another sleeps in their car, a tent or under a bridge. And in these examples I am only talking about basic necessities. When it comes to luxury items this line of reasoning applies even more so. With so much wealth in the world, especially with such a large percentage of wealth concentrated in the hands of relatively few people, I find it unconscionable to hoard too much wealth and material goods to ourselves while others less fortunate than ourselves are in need. Remember what Jesus said, and it's in all four gospels. Don't take my word for it, go and read it for yourself. Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man (or woman) to enter the kingdom of heaven”.
Material wealth is a distraction that takes our eyes and our focus off of God. The more earthly goods we accumulate, the less we think about our spiritual needs. The less we think about our spiritual needs, the less we think about God. Prosperity, while it can be a good thing when it is in the right hands, is most often that which alienates us from God and from our spiritual selves. When our lives are over and we die, it is our souls that live on while our physical bodies get left behind. The more spiritual we were during our lives on earth, the greater our faith is in Jesus. Our eternity in heaven is directly proportional to our spiritual existence on earth, but too much emphasis on material gain and possessions neutralizes our spirituality. Remember what Jesus said when He taught the crowds that followed after Him, “What does it matter if a man gains the whole world and loses his soul?” In the very next book in the New Testament Paul makes additional comments concerning equality.
“You are all sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3: verses 26-29 NIV)
“ But when the time had fully come, God sent His son, born of a woman, born under law to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, the Spirit that calls out, 'Abba, Father'. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has also made you an heir.” (Galatians 4: verses 4-7 NIV)
All of mankind, then, are equals under Jesus Christ because God has made it so according to Scripture. It is therefore immoral, unethical and sinful to discriminate, prejudge, or to hold in contempt any other human being regardless of their race, nationality or ethnic origin, or because of their religious background and their faith (or the lack thereof), or because of their gender, age, or their marital, social or economic status, or sexual orientation or political affiliation. Any person who does any of the above things that I have just written is guilty of holding in contempt that which God has made, and by extension holds God Himself in contempt. And that is blasphemy in its highest form. The Bible teaches that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only sin that God can't forgive. Any person who deliberately commits this sin will be eternally condemned when they die. I don't know about you, but condemnation is not in any of my future plans. As the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Based on this Scriptural teaching which is the irrefutable Word of God, I know with certainty that any person who hates another for any reason is without excuse. There can therefore be no racial hatred, nor can there be any hatred of one religion or religious denomination by another, nor can there be any hatred of those who are economically disadvantaged such as the homeless, nor can there be any hatred of gay people, nor can there be any hatred of liberal or conservative, or any other form of intolerance. This is the very essence of true spiritual belief. God put diverse groups of people and cultures on this earth all together in order to teach us tolerance of one another. Once tolerance takes root, it leads to communication. Communication in turn leads to understanding, understanding then leads to empathy and empathy to compassion. And when we have compassion for one another, that invariably leads to peace. Peace will inevitably lead to an end to war, poverty, crime and sickness, and with it inequality. What a wonderful world that would be, and it is all within our grasp if we will only embrace tolerance. Let us therefore join together in tolerance, communication, understanding, empathy, compassion and peace. Since the majority of us claim to be Christians, we proclaim ourselves to worship the Prince of Peace. That means we had better be emulating Jesus Christ by becoming a peaceful people. And that is how we will all make the world a better place, starting with ourselves.
Profile Information
Name: Paul J. BernGender: Male
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Member since: Sun Dec 18, 2011, 05:52 PM
Number of posts: 46