Jesus taught:
You will either love Wealth and hate and despise God or you will love God and hate and despise Wealth; That you will forgive others for what they do; That you cannot love God and hate your neighbor; That Your Neighbor is everyone that you come into contact with who has a need; That the rich who sit and do nothing for Lazarus will end up in Hell; That anyone who wants to be his follower not just the wealthy must sell what they have and give it to the poor Luke 12: (it wasn't a command he gave to just one person but to everyone); That the chances of a person who loved wealth of entering into heaven was less than of a camel fitting through the eye of a sewing needle. (why, because they would never be willing to share their wealth with the poor, and only those who were willing would be able to enter into heaven.) -- James Milton Joy, member of The Christian Left Jesus' commands to love and care for others were given as universals, without exempting any human organizations or institutions. All human institutions, governments and businesses included, are responsible to care for others, especially since individual or private charity can never be or do enough. The Christian Right has been imposing their twisted belief system, which isn't even based on what Jesus said, on all of us (including our Government through their influence on public policy) for well over 30 years now. Not OK. And we intend to do something about that. For more, please read: "The Christian Cop Out." The GoodFellas of The Christian Right ordained Rick Santorum as their pick for President last January. Then they got back on their jets and headed back to their tax shelters. They picked Santorum because Ronmey is a Mormon (a heathen in their eyes), and he is FAR too liberal for their taste. Did they know they were choosing a mad man as their candidate for President? A man who elevates himself above the head of his own church? A man who wants to impose his own twisted vision of theocracy on the United States? Probably so. These are tragic times for a once great nation. Tragic times.  For a look at some of the players of The Christian Right, check out "The Enemies Within: The 20 Most Dangerous Conservatives And Their Organizations," by By Stephen D. Foster Jr.
 Let me get this straight: Rick Santorum, a Catholic, is attacking John F. Kennedy, our country's first Catholic President, for championing the separation of Church and State. Meanwhile, he believes we should bomb Iran, a country whose governmental compass is guided by religious fanatics, a country completely directed by religious doctrine, a religious doctrine they've used to justify developing nuclear weapons, among other things.
And we, somehow, allow Santorum to say these things because we don't believe that a Christian-run nation would be capable of such horror? Like, oh, I don't know... evicting and eradicating one race (Native Americans), enslaving another (African-Americans), and interring yet another race (Japanese-Americans) during WWII? Then, you also have to account for how we've oppressed blacks and other racial minorities, women, Catholics, and now, most recently, gay and Muslim Americans. All of these, by the way, were done under Christian Presidents and mostly-Christian Congresses. As a Christian, Santorum's logic embarrasses me. As a human being, it frustrates me that we allow people like him to take out of our hearts the words Christ preached to somehow form swords "in His name" and yet against the values of which He spoke. Senator Santorum, instead of throwing the Holy Bible at those who don't share your values, try sitting down and reading it some time.  You Masters of War. We know what you want next. You want Iran. You want the oil. You want to settle old scores. You want to make lots of money from death and destruction. You want the Iranian banking system to be yours. The Lord sees what you are doing. He can slap down your plans. Some day he will. Come you masters of war; You that build all the guns; You that build the death planes; You that build all the bombs; You that hide behind walls; You that hide behind desks; I just want you to know; I can see through your masks. You that never done nothin'; But build to destroy; You play with my world; Like it's your little toy; You put a gun in my hand; And you hide from my eyes; And you turn and run farther; When the fast bullets fly. Like Judas of old; You lie and deceive;A world war can be won; You want me to believe; But I see through your eyes; And I see through your brain; Like I see through the water; That runs down my drain. You fasten all the triggers; For the others to fire; Then you set back and watch; When the death count gets higher; You hide in your mansion'; As young people's blood; Flows out of their bodies; And is buried in the mud. You've thrown the worst fear; That can ever be hurled; Fear to bring children; Into the world; For threatening my baby; Unborn and unnamed; You ain't worth the blood; That runs in your veins. How much do I know; To talk out of turn; You might say that I'm young; You might say I'm unlearned; But there's one thing I know; Though I'm younger than you; That even Jesus would never; Forgive what you do. Let me ask you one question; Is your money that good; Will it buy you forgiveness; Do you think that it could; I think you will find; When your death takes its toll; All the money you made; Will never buy back your soul. And I hope that you die; And your death'll come soon; I will follow your casket; In the pale afternoon; And I'll watch while you're lowered; Down to your deathbed; And I'll stand over your grave; 'Til I'm sure that you're dead. Learn more about this song here. Generals gathered in their masses; Just like witches at black masses; Evil minds that plot destruction; Sorcerers of death's construction; In the fields the bodies burning; As the war machine keeps turning; Death and hatred to mankind; Poisoning their brainwashed minds... Oh Lord yeah! Politicians hide themselves away; They only started the war; Why should they go out to fight?; They leave that role to the poor, yeah Time will tell on their power minds; Making war just for fun; Treating people just like pawns in chess; Wait 'till their Judgment day comes, yeah! Now in darkness, world stops turning; Ashes where the bodies burning; No more war pigs of the power; Hand of God has struck the hour; Day of Judgment, God is calling; On their knees the war pigs crawling; Begging mercy for their sins; Satan, laughing, spreads his wings; Oh Lord yeah! Learn more about this song here. Lunatic fringe; I know you're out there; You're in hiding; And you hold your meetings. I can hear you coming; We know what you're after; We're wise to you this time; We won't let you kill the laughter Lunatic fringe; In the twilight's last gleaming; This is open season; But you won't get too far 'Cause you gotta blame someone; For your own confusion; But I'm on guard this time; Against your final solution We can hear you coming; No you're not going to win this time; We can hear the footsteps; Out along the walkway Lunatic fringe; We all know you're out there; Can you feel the resistance?; Can you feel the thunder? Learn more about this song here. Note: We are aware that Bush is no longer President. Nevertheless, the structures and companies put in place by his administration remain. Now they are gunning for Iran. This is unacceptable. "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." -- Isaiah 2:4   Pork    Shrimp & Lobster    Blended Fabrics   A Clean Shave  Women in Pants  Hair Cuts  Men Marrying Men The Bottom Line:   For an in depth analysis of this topic check out, "Clobbering 'Biblical' Gay Bashing.," by Rev. Mark Sandlin. Here's another great article on this topic from SoulForce Another great article from Skipping The Piccolo And another one Comments from our Facebook Page:
Love the signs and the protestor at Red Lobster! :) The prohibitions in Leviticus aren't absurd, but they have to be understood in context. The word "abomination" in Hebrew is "to-evah" and it is used to describe practices that were associated with idol worship. That was a big issue in the early history of the Israelites, who were constantly back-sliding. The commandments relating to idol worship were intended to separate the Israelites from the neighboring pagan peoples and to stop imitating their practices and ceremonies. Viewed in that light, the Levitical passages make much more sense. You can read more about this in Jay Michaelson's excellent new book, "God vs. Gay." -- Rob Montague The Christian Left is an online ministry and community for Christian progressives and their allies. It’s a place to gather any time of day, 7 days a week, no matter where you live. It’s a place where members can discuss current events, news of the day, culture, politics, philosophy, theology, music, and anything else worthy of discussion. All discussion takes place on the backdrop of the life of Jesus and his teachings. It’s a place where members won’t be harassed by conservative “Christians,” Republicans, or naysayers of any kind. It’s a haven. Anyone can be a member. All we ask is that people join us if they want to be a part of what we have to offer, not to debate with us or try to convince us of their point of view. We are not a debate society. The founding members of The Christian Left take part in political action. They have traveled all over the country to participate in gatherings and events where political action is taking place. As an organization we'll be increasing this kind of action in 2020. It's a pivotal year for the future of our nation. How many Christian organizations do you know of these days advocating for progressive policy? There aren't many and we were one of the first in the era of social media having launched in 2009. Like you, we understand that modern conservative policy has turned its back on all who need any kind of help from society, those that Jesus called ‘the least of these.’ Our modern economic system has become the 'law of the jungle.' Only the richest, strongest and smartest receive help. "The rest are just lazy freeloaders who deserve what they get, which is nothing." That's how conservative ideology views it whether its followers realize it or not, and it's the opposite of everything Jesus ever said. It’s a mystery to us why 80% of white evangelicals vote Republican. It makes no sense, unless you factor in the amount of money conservative groups have spent on messaging aimed at the church. A counter-narrative to the ideology and messaging of The "Christian" Right couldn't be more important at this particular time in history. They spend billions on conservative policy messaging every year, and they tie it to the Christian faith. They tie it to Jesus. That’s blasphemy in our opinion. We're so glad you're here! There are many places across the internet you can connect with us and the rest of the TCL community. Here are the primary locations. Most of the action happens on our Facebook page. That's where we discuss daily events in politics, culture and theology.
  Welcome!
 Do not fall for the argument that we on the left are no better than the Christian right and are somehow demonizing them in the way they demonize people. It is the Christian right way of trying to get us to be quiet just when our stronger voices are having an effect. It is a false notion that true Christians are quiet and passive and allow the right to condemn homosexuals, pass laws that invade women's bodies and bludgeon those who believe differently than they do. They do not want our interference with their agenda of keeping the rich rich and the poor poor. Don't fall for it. -- Rev. Guy Lynch, of The Practical Christian Now listen to the radio show this blog post inspired: Click here for a transcript of this show. "The Christian Cop-Out" blog piece mentioned in the show is available here.  The book mentioned in the above radio broadcast, "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America," by Chris Hedges, can be ordered here. 
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.
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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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