 When an algorithm deletes a Sunday sermon live-streamed by our own Rev. Mark Sandlin and temporarily suspends his ability to live-stream based on the content of his sermon it’s time to fix the algorithm.
Let’s face it, if that happened to any church belonging to the modern Christian Right it would be national news. We’re talking about Mark’s regular Sunday sermon that he steams to his church every week. He streams it here too. He's been suspended from doing so for a period of time unknown to him or us. He’s not even sure what words triggered the algorithm but some of the words he used were the same words US Generals used to describe the situation on Jan 6th. All he’s ever told is to read the community standards which he’s read a hundred times of course over the length of his social media career. Mark has been nothing short of a social media pioneer by any measure of the words. Sermon taken down and ability to live-stream suspended. Most level heads would agree that’s not OK. We’d like to get it fixed but we can’t ever find anyone to complain to. Similar things have happened to us frequently over the last decade because we highlight oppression and we use authentic words to describe it. Don't get us wrong. We love social media. It has enabled us to get out the message of The Christian Left (getting back to the teachings of Jesus) on a scale that would not have been possible a short time ago. After being an early and consistent user almost from its beginning we need social media to be a tad more responsive to helping us fix this dilemma. Any ideas?  Never would we have imagined our country to be in the position we're in during the Christmas season of 2020. Below are the Tweets of Mad King Nero over the last 24 hours or so. It's embarrassing. It's hard to even imagine that this is real. The Republican Party should have stepped up long ago to put a stop to this. Instead they allow people like Ted Cruz to speak for them. Meanwhile Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy do nothing to stop the insane turmoil their president is raining down on the nation. This is all taking place while Americans are dropping like flies because Nero has mismanaged the worst pandemic in American history from the beginning. We have work to do. We have a vaccine to be distributed to the American people. That's what our leaders should be focused on 100%, but that's not the case. Based on past behavior it appears we're going to have to deal with the following for another 40 days and 40 nights. The tragedy of that is that every day wasted with this nonsense comes at the cost of American people dying needlessly. It's important to note that the president's own lapdog Attorney General says there is no evidence that any fraud took place that would affect the outcome of the election. The man in charge of election security on the federal level said this was the most secure election in US history. Trump fired him. All he has left are bogus lawsuits that everyone knows are a joke and attacking Hunter Biden. If that's the game Trump wants to play let's open an investigation on his adult offspring and his son-in-law. How would people have voted if they knew the truth about them? We suspect we haven't even scratched the surface of the corruption we'll find buried there. Books will be written about that topic for the next 50 years. Without a doubt this has been the most corrupt and inept presidency in US history. The Republican Party is complicit in all of this. All of it.                  Click Or Tap On Image For Wiki Commons Source Important Opening Clarification: This article is not about "calling out" government officials, or CEOs of large corporations, or cops who shoot black people in the back or presidents who lie every day. This clarification is also made in the middle of the article but we decided to make it here as well. This article is about "horizontal call-outs," a practice that is on the increase as of late in the social justice community. It's where one alleged progressive entity 'calls out' another progressive entity. It's about progressive infighting and it's almost universally frowned upon by legitimate actors as being toxic. How to deal with toxic call-outs online is almost universally accepted - delete, ban, control who can comment on your forum, report, contact authorities if it doesn't stop, and get legal help if it spirals out of control.  Call-outs have become a serious problem in the social justice community. It's ugly. It's self-righteous. It's sad. It's uncalled for. People get hurt. The definition of a 'call-out' is to publicly name and shame a group or individual and for the purpose of this article it is narrowed to progressive vs. progressive call-outs. Groups or individuals doing the call-outs often can't be reasoned with on any level. They are convinced they are right and that is that. Their identity is defined by what they'e doing and to reverse course would mean self examination on a deeper level than they are willing to undertake. Some people have even crafted an obvious business model out of call-outs, with templates and jargon, and that's a whole separate level of evil. Matt Kappadakunnel puts it this way in his article: Calling out “call-outs”: how to bring charity to the social justice movement and why it’s important "The problem with call-outs is it shames individual members, promotes a punishing form of education executed by self-affirmed “woke” people which is done in a manner antithetical to the mission of social justice and reinforces a toxic environment whereby members walk on egg shells for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing and being called out." So who is accountable to who? What would happen if we approached some random group and said, "We call you into accountability with us!" It would be absurd. We know who we're accountable to, Jesus and the majority of happy TCL community members. We would no more launch a public shaming campaign on another social justice group than we would on our own mothers. Doing so would be as far away from who who we are as you can get.  Trying to reason with a "progressive" group that would go to the level of a public shaming campaign feels exactly like trying to reason with members of the Trump cult. It's impossible. The only solution they will consider is one where you sign a full confession of their accusations and then agree to their template of "coming into right relationship with them." If that isn't emotional extortion what is? That's what makes it heinous and toxic. It’s important to make the following distinction. Loretta Ross said it eloquently in her New York Times piece, “I’m a Black Feminist. I Think Call-Out Culture Is Toxic.” “Call-outs are justified to challenge provocateurs who deliberately hurt others, or for powerful people beyond our reach. Effectively criticizing such people is an important tactic for achieving justice. But most public shaming is horizontal and done by those who believe they have greater integrity or more sophisticated analyses. They become the self-appointed guardians of political purity. Call-outs make people fearful of being targeted. People avoid meaningful conversations when hypervigilant perfectionists point out apparent mistakes, feeding the cannibalistic maw of the cancel culture.” When individuals or groups get the notion that you need to be held "accountable" to them they often grow indignant if you don't agree. That can lead to an increase in hostility on their part where the group crosses the line engaging in illegal and unethical tactics. One such tactic is known as "Doxxing." ‘Doxxing’ (or ‘dropping documents’) involves the release of personal information without permission, and to a hostile online audience. This may include phone numbers, email and residential addresses, photographs, social media profiles or bank details. Doxxing is totally unethical and illegal under state criminal laws. It’s a crime and can lead to serious legal consequences like imprisonment if you get caught harassing others and sharing their private information. If someone is using published personal information within ethical standards it is not a crime. However, those doxxing with a more insidious agenda are committing a serious crime if their motives are proven to be unethical. Another way a call-outs can devolve into illegal and unethical behavior is when they easily turn into cyber harassment. Cyber harassment is defined as repetitive, invasive & anxiety provoking online interpersonal attacks. It is the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to harass, control, manipulate or habitually disparage a child, adult, business or group without a direct or implied threat of physical harm. It isn't cute or justified. It's sick and wrong and you need to understand it because it could happen to you. With the advent of the internet, social media and mobile device technology, these forms of abuse have become around the clock activities leaving minimal respite for the victim. Having access to a multitude of digital devices combined with online forums to carry out harassment, the victim has no sanctuary or avenues for escape.  Reckless defamers can inflict overwhelming stress on those they target. Don't face it alone. Get legal advice. For More About Cyber Harassment Read: Cyber Harassment Internet Defamation & Internet Trolls A particularly egregious form of a call-out is mob harassment. Mob harassment occurs when you receive communication at a large volume that is threatening and/or overwhelming. The communication may often be intended to distress or discredit you. It's also known as "mob attacks" or "cybermobs," and can be from multiple individuals, accounts, or bots. It's usually coordinated and may include a special interest group. Mob harassment can feel overwhelming and that’s what it is intended to do. The target can and does feel helpless like the entire situation is spinning out of control. Sometimes the mob keeps coming at their target for days, weeks or months. A person often feels like it’s never going to end and it will destroy their life. There is no excuse whatsoever for this kind of behavior. None. Fortunately smart and sympathetic people have put together an action plan for people targeted with mob harassment. Here it is. Please look it over and become familiar with it in the event that you or a friend or colleague ever becomes the focus of mob harassment. The Christian Left was an early pioneer in social media and probably the first social media Christian ministry and community. Many have imitated and duplicated our methods and policies over the years. Our trolling policy (which includes 'Concern Trolling') was one of our earliest policies. It is overwhelmingly appreciated by TCL community members. It applies to all people who come here to disrupt no matter who they are, left or right. For years it was only the right that attacked us. That's changed and it's a sad thing. It only reinforces what conservatives often say, "The left always eats its own." We make no apologies about our troll policy and we never will. It is designed to protect our admin team and our community members. If we've ever been overzealous in the enforcement it stems from our desire to protect the community. Concern trolls often get very, very upset when they don't get to force their will on TCL. Sometimes they go to great lengths try to control us. It just proves that their intent was never innocent in the first place. Our community members don't want to be harassed. They get enough of that from friends and family because they are Christian progressives. We've devoted tens of thousands of hours keeping TCL a troll free haven (including concern trolls). With a page this size it has to be this way. 99% of our members appreciate the policy. Please read our Troll Policy here. The Christian Left Is A Troll Free Page. Sometimes people misconstrue our trolling policies to mean that people have to agree with us on everything. Not true. WE don't even agree with us on everything. We often post a wide variety of opinions on all kinds of topics. That being said this is not a debate page. If someone doesn't like a post or doesn't agree with something we ask that they scroll on by. That's all. Just scroll on by. It has to be that way with a page this size. It prevents a lot of poop storms. Trust us. Most people understand these concepts without ever having to be told. They participate in our ministry because they see it as needed and valuable. It's an infinitesimally small percentage of people who ever need to be informed that we do not allow shaming, lecturing, telling us how to run the page or the ministry, asking obvious passive-aggressive questions, telling us what merch we're allowed to offer, etc. We've taken down merch a couple times in the past as a courtesy, not because we were shamed or ordered. Tens of thousands of people have told us over the years that TCL is a literal lifeline for them. Several LGBTQIA+ folks have said they were entertaining suicide until they found TCL. We were one of the first national Christian ministries to fully support marriage equality. The ministry is too important to too many people to not protect this space and protect this space we will ... by whatever nonviolent means we have to. "I appeal to you to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. - Romans 16:17-20 ESV They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” – John: 8 "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. - Isaiah 54:17 For additional resources and articles about call-outs please see links below.  Barack Obama takes on 'woke' call-out culture: 'That's not activism' More On Call-Out Culture & Public Shaming (Article): Defining “Online Harassment”: A Glossary of Terms Very Helpful (Article): Calling out “call-outs”: how to bring charity to the social justice movement and why it’s important (Article): Public Shaming: The Global Epidemic (Article): The shame of public shaming (Article): How to Handle Social Media Harassment (Book): So You've Been Publicly Shamed We will be adding additional resources here as we find them. Our intent is to build a 'library of links' so to speak on this topic. If you know of any good articles or books please email us at TCL@TheChristianLeft.org. No hate mail. When we get hate mail of any kind we read the first few sentences. Once we discover that it's hate mail we close it and delete it.  Brené Brown, from her book "Dare To Lead"     The Christian Left is user supported. We're one of very few voices offering a counter-narrative to the billion dollar empire of The "Christian" Right. Every day new people find the ministry and say things like, "Where have you been all my life! Finally a place for me!" That's what has kept us coming back every day since 2009. We feel the same way they do about the TCL community. It is a haven for almost 400K people and we're going to keep protecting it as we've always done. It's a big job. We need dedicated people who believe in this mission to participate by backing our effort financially. Make a contribution today and sign up to make it monthly. Any amount helps. Here's how (click or tap here).
Our Latest Bumper Sticker!  Some details: We order our own bumper stickers to check the quality. We're impressed with the way they turn out from this company. They are very well made and they're shipped quickly in nice protective packaging. If you follow all the tricks in the ordering instructions below you can pick one up for $8 and change shipped to your door (the 8 and change includes shipping). Look at it as helping to support your favorite online ministry and getting a cool bumper sticker as a bonus. If you're afraid to put it on your car you can put one on your refrigerator, laptop, bulletin board, cooler, freezer, etc. The instructions to order are below.  Get your point across with this quality bumper sticker that will outlast heavy rain, intense sunlight, and the most severe of traffic jams.
Note: We've given you the link to order but don't order just yet. There are a few more tricks below to reduce your final price. During the checkout process you’ll need to create a Zazzle account to buy the product. For $8 and change you can have it sent to your home (shipping is included in that price). Just take advantage of the 15% discount code they offer and the shipping deal described below. Zazzle is a community of independent artists and makers from around the world. Your purchase helps support talented designers like The Christian Left. Also, get free standard shipping for 30 days by signing up for Zazzle Black at the end. You can cancel before the 30 days and pay nothing, or you can pay $9.95 for a year of free shipping from Zazzle. We're going to offer more bumper stickers and other things like greeting cards on Zazzle so it's not a bad deal if you like our stuff, and all of it is progressive Christian inspired. While they don’t currently offer a guest account option, there are three methods to register a Zazzle account:
Fear not! No matter which option you choose, joining Zazzle is secure, free and most of all, fun! A Zazzle account is quick to create. The privacy of all Zazzle members is of the utmost importance to them, so they will never spam your account or share any of your personal information with 3rd party sites. Once you register, you’ll have access to lots of great benefits. With a Zazzle account, you can:
Here are our two new Bumper Stickers. They can also be placed on your refrigerator, laptop, bulletin board cooler, etc.  Our Second Bumper Sticker!  Update: We've ordered one of our own bumper stickers from Zazzle before. We're impressed with the way they turned out. They are very well made and they were shipped quickly in nice protective packaging. If you follow all the tricks in the ordering instructions below you can pick one up for $8 and change shipped to your door (the 8 and change includes shipping). Look at it as helping to support your favorite online ministry and getting a cool bumper sticker as a bonus. If you're afraid to put it on your car you can put one on your refrigerator, laptop, bulletin board, etc. They turned out well. The instructions to order are below. We've given you all the tricks to order for the smallest price. Get your point across with this quality bumper sticker that will outlast heavy rain, intense sunlight, and the most severe of traffic jams!
Order yours by clicking here. Note: During the checkout process you’ll need to create a Zazzle account to buy the product. For $8 and change you can have it sent to your home (shipping is included in that price). Just take advantage of the 15% discount code they offer and the shipping deal described below (called Zazzle Black). Zazzle is a community of independent artists and makers from around the world. Your purchase helps support talented designers like The Christian Left. Also, get free standard shipping for 30 days by signing up for Zazzle Black at the end. You can cancel before the 30 days and pay nothing, or you can pay $9.95 for a year of free shipping from Zazzle. We're going to offer more bumper stickers and other things like greeting cards on Zazzle so it's not a bad deal if you like our stuff, and all of it is progressive Christian inspired. While they don’t currently offer a guest account option, there are three methods to register a Zazzle account:
Fear not! No matter which option you choose, joining Zazzle is secure, free and most of all, fun! A Zazzle account is quick to create. The privacy of all Zazzle members is of the utmost importance to them, so they will never spam your account or share any of your personal information with 3rd party sites. Once you register, you’ll have access to lots of great benefits. With a Zazzle account, you can:
Our First Bumper Sticker!  Update: We ordered one of our own bumper stickers (see photo directly below). We're impressed with the way they turned out. They are very well made and they were shipped quickly in nice protective packaging. If you follow all the tricks in the ordering instructions below you can pick one up for $8 and change shipped to your door (the 8 and change includes shipping). Look at it as helping to support your favorite online ministry and getting a cool bumper sticker as a bonus. If you're afraid to put it on your car you can put one on your refrigerator, laptop, bulletin board, etc. They turned out well. The instructions to order are below.  Get your point across with this quality bumper sticker that will outlast heavy rain, intense sunlight, and the most severe of traffic jams.
Order yours by clicking here. Note: During the checkout process you’ll need to create a Zazzle account to buy the product. For $8 and change you can have it sent to your home (shipping is included in that price). Just take advantage of the 15% discount code they offer and the shipping deal described below. Zazzle is a community of independent artists and makers from around the world. Your purchase helps support talented designers like The Christian Left. Also, get free standard shipping for 30 days by signing up for Zazzle Black at the end. You can cancel before the 30 days and pay nothing, or you can pay $9.95 for a year of free shipping from Zazzle. We're going to offer more bumper stickers and other things like greeting cards on Zazzle so it's not a bad deal if you like our stuff, and all of it is progressive Christian inspired. While they don’t currently offer a guest account option, there are three methods to register a Zazzle account:
Fear not! No matter which option you choose, joining Zazzle is secure, free and most of all, fun! A Zazzle account is quick to create. The privacy of all Zazzle members is of the utmost importance to them, so they will never spam your account or share any of your personal information with 3rd party sites. Once you register, you’ll have access to lots of great benefits. With a Zazzle account, you can:
 Final Note:
Support your hard-working progressive Christian missionaries today! Pick up a great bumper sticker and display it proudly in your home or on your car! If you're afraid to put it on your car put it on a bulletin board in your home someplace. Remind yourself that there are other sane Christians out there like you. It will spark plenty of conversation with your guests too. It's only a total of 8 bucks and change to have it shipped to your house. Take advantage of the 15% discount and the free-for-30-days shipping through Zazzle Black. You can opt for all that at the end of the order. We're going to make other cool things too and if you decide to keep Zazzle Black it's only $9.95 for a full year of free shipping. That's pretty good! For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1: 7  Trump is going to lie about anything and everything, especially if he's guilty. He's going to order all his people to stonewall congress, to refuse to show up at hearings, produce documents, or answer questions, just like Lewandowski did the other day. He was an arrogant, rude jerk to congress on top of it. This is absolutely and utterly over-the-top ridiculous. Trump is in direct violation of the law by not producing the whistleblower report. Next he and Barr will try to tie it up in court. That's their little game. It's time for Democrats to freaking step up! It's time to impeach! There is no choice here. This is probably the biggest constitutional crisis we've faced in 100 years. We all know the Senate won't convict. It doesn't matter. When impeachment begins the house has dramatically increased powers guaranteed by the constitution. They can compel witnesses and documents. There will be no more stonewalling or fines and/or jail will ensue. The American people must know the truth. Without the truth the 2020 election will be illegitimate, based on false information. Voters must have accurate information to make rational choices. Why do you think Trump hates the press so much? In general the press digs up accurate information. They rely on their peers to do the same and substantiate the story. They fact check one another. Everything changes when impeachment begins. The courts fast track everything because impeachment powers are spelled out in the constitution. The American people can't let all these crimes slide. What happens if Trump steals the election again with the help of foreign enemies, like he did last time? That level of risk is way too big. Way too big. It;s time to step up and do what the Founders prescribed for this situation. He can't pardon anyone unless there's a federal conviction of a crime. Conviction isn't the goal here. The truth is the goal. Voters must have accurate information to make a rational choice at the voting booth. Again, that's the number one reason dictators suppress and harass the press, so they can create their own narrative. Trump is trying to do just that. We can't sit and tremble in the corner because of all the what-ifs. What kind of leadership is that? Accurate information for the voters is the goal. Trembling in the corner is what Democrats do too often, and they lose. Republican don't think things to death and tremble in the corner. Trump is blatantly saying he can do whatever he wants and the law can't touch him. Barr is going along with it. If we don't step up and lead right now regardless of our fears, we're done. We'll all have to get used to fascism. Better to lead now. Lives are in the balance. Let's get on with it.   Check out our new designs. They speak to current events in a provocative way. The text is enlarged below each design. Click on the images to order.
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We're gearing up to engage in live and in-person activism leading up to the 2020 election. This email spells out how you can sponsor our efforts. We need you. This article is one worth preserving on our blog.  There are some two thousand verses on justice and poverty in the Bible. Justice and care for the poor and oppressed can be found throughout scripture in every part of the Bible from the law and the prophets to the Gospels and Epistles all the way to Revelation. God lifts up the lowly and brings down the powerful, and feeds the hungry and sends the rich away empty (Luke 1:52-53). Progressive Christianity stands upon the long liberal tradition of the Church from ancient Judaism through the Enlightenment and into the present. It focuses on the biblical themes of liberation and justice. Progressive Christianity is in some ways a response to conservative Christian neglect of biblical social ethics. Progressive Christians seek to reintegrate the major biblical themes of social justice back into Christian belief and practice. Fundamentalists neglected the basic biblical mandate to live justly. They have blamed the poor, turned the foreigner and the refugee away, squashed the lowly and gave tax cuts to the rich. Many Evangelicals have, in Jesus’ words become children of the devil (Matthew 25:15). Continue Reading |
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Charles Toy is the founding member of The Christian Left. We're sure you will enjoy his passion as well as his wit. Guest bloggers featured often.
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