Let me again state that I am not a Catholic, I left that church 43 years ago and spent the next decade as an agnostic before becoming a non-denominational Christian and then a preacher about 6 years ago. I am also a Political Scientist and hold a doctorate in Law where I also received the American Jurisprudence Award for Constitutional Law. My major focus in life since age 4 has always been government and it's role and proper place in society.
The most important issue facing anyone who thinks about government is how and when it should control individual actions. It is the issue of control and influence over political decisions. Most people, especially politicians, make decisions and justifications based on their personal beliefs and biases. The problem is that few are consistent and most rather than truly asking themselves honest questions justify their actions with false arguments. Not long ago one politician came to the defense of the clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay people. The politician claimed that the clerk did not have to because the law was unclear, he claimed that was the clerk's reason; but, the clerk herself said that her reason was because it was against her religious beliefs. While I consider her wrong in her actions, at least she was honest about what her reasons were. It was the politician who flat out lied.
I know some of my readers do not like the posts about spirituality. I want to assure them this post is about Christian beliefs. This is about the role of Christianity in our everyday lives. If you are an Atheist or are a non-Christian, my accusations are not against you. This is an attack on people who call themselves Christians and are not. I have said in church, if you think that believing Jesus is your savior is enough, you missed the rest of what he said. He said that many would come calling his name and he would tell them he never knew them.
Matthew 7:21-23. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Do not fool yourself if you are truly a Christian then you will be changed and things only get harder because you are asked to put others ahead of yourself. Christianity calls for the rejection of selfishness.
Matthew 19: 16-22.
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good[a] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good?[b] No one is good but One, that is, God.[c] But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[d] and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”[e]
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth.[f] What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
While conservative Christians say that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, why do so many deny that this simple statement by Jesus does not apply to them today. Jesus also said that we were to be good slaves and that the government had the right to take money from you as it is the government that issues the money, it also controls it. Jesus did not come to set us free from government control and submitted to it till he died. Jesus and his disciples did not live as businessmen, though all worked, they lived a communal existence and shared all. In fact the members of the first church gave all they had to the church and lived communally. Jesus was not anti-capitalism, he was pro community. The bible also says that if you live by the sword you will die by the sword, yet, we have conservatives who claim to be Christians that promote murder and wars, not just of defense; but, also to protect the national interest including economic interests.
I am against abortion and the death penalty because God is against both. I am a follower of Christ first and a supporter of nation second. If you think you are a follower of Christ and support the death penalty, you are a hypocrite. It was the government that allowed Jesus to be put to death and made sure it happened. It was government officials that nailed Jesus to the cross, not Jews and under their laws, it was legal.
Our clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gays issued multiple licenses to adulterers who remarried. Yet, the ten commandments and Jesus specifically said that adultery was still in the top ten of violations of God's commandments. Jesus stopped the stoning of the adulterer because murder was also still in the top ten. Homosexuality never made the top ten.
As for abortion, I would not outlaw it. No matter how much I believe it to be wrong, I don't believe I have the right to control another's body. China mandated that abortions be performed if people already had one child even against the mother's will. Babies are people from the moment of conception. Species is determined by dna and genetically babies are human from the moment of conception; but, they are not citizens until birth and therefore are beyond this government's control. Heck, how can conservatives declare children born here to foreign people to not be citizens and then claim that they can have authority over babies that have not been born yet?
Jesus did not call for a theocracy in Israel until he returns. He submitted to Roman law and it was most definitely neither Jewish or Christian. Jesus did not upset the powers because he threatened to overthrow them in his day; but, because he threatened their beliefs. He questioned their choices. He threatened most of all the conservative priests who followed tradition over loving all. When you call for war, you reject Christ and his teachings. When you call for death, you reject Christ and his teachings. When you promote adultery, you reject Christ and his teachings. When you call for selfishness, you reject Christ and his teachings. When you lie, you reject Christ and his teachings and when you do not honor your parents, you reject Christ and his teachings. If you don't understand this, try re-reading the passages from Matthew 19 again.
There is only one sin and that is the rejection of the holy spirit, that is a rejection of God. Only people who know of God can reject him. Many conservatives were upset that the Pope called on people to take care of one another and to reject selfishness. The Pope was invited to speak at Congress and he agreed to. What did people think he was going to say? If Jesus came back today and spoke before congress, do you really think he would promote capitalism, communism or any other ism? Do you think he would call for the death penalty or selfishness?
I do not believe the Pope has any new revelations from God, I do not believe his word supersedes the bible. I am not a follower of the Pope. I see him under the same rules that all preachers are under. I thought he spoke well of his beliefs in congress and did not hear him say anything that violated the bible and what it teaches. He called for loving our neighbors, protecting life and trying to find a way to work together. Things that extremists of all types will hate whether they be ideological extremists or theological ones. When Jesus returns, he will have harsher words for those who reject love and forgiveness. If you reject those concepts, do not call yourself a Christian because I assure you, Jesus will not call you a follower of his.
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