My husband and I had an online argument with a "distant " relative ( to be precise she is related to his half-brother on his mother's side and since they share a father, I wonder if you can even count that) She thinks Trump was sent by God himself and got all up in our faces about her faith and her "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" Ok.
The thing I find about most hard-core evangelicals is that when they are LOSING an argument, they drag Jesus into it, as if he is some sort of Deus ex Machina to end any discussion, as if accusing someone of being Godless is some kind of victory lap. I went to Sunday School and can quote ( or look up) Scripture with the best of them. When I threw a few NEW Testament verses at her, she went all Old Testament on me. She went off on me about "Fearing God". Why the HECK would I fear God? I read somewhere that a Hebrew word meaning ' respect" was poorly translated and the word "Fear" was used instead. Some religions try to scare you into faith ( much like the current "platform" of the Republican Party, but I digress) I gave her tit for tat and she blocked us. Probably better that way.
My question to Trump supporters- and it's a REAL question is- WHAT is Christlike about Trump? You know Jesus helped the poor, stood for the downtrodden, tried to unite us all in loving one another. He wasn't motivated to accumulate wealth.
I doubt he had a junior high style nickname for Pontius Pilate.
These days, I am remembering why I stopped going to church. It was the parishioners that drove me away. I saw their judgmental behavior, gossiping about someone's clothes or their lives in hand-rubbing glee that turned me away from belonging to any particular denomination. I still consider myself to be a Christian, but the people who are waving their Bibles in the air and proclaiming Trump as God's chosen are exactly the kind of people who drove me from a faith community.
The people of faith I most admire are those who "walk in faith" they don't just pay it lip service but really behave day-to-day- in a way that speaks well of their faith- whatever it may be. My dad used to say people would "Go to Church on Sunday and to Hell on Monday" meaning the minute they walked out the church door the sermon was forgotten.
He was right in the case of the church I attended and a few years after I left it, the Church closed. They sold the building to another church of a different denomination, folded their tents and left town.
Still, I have a good Biblical education, although they did choose what to teach and what not to teach from the Bible. There are so many horrific stories of rape and violence in the Bible, probably not suitable for elementary school kids to hear about.. I have no desire to try to read it cover to cover. It's a hard thing to do and it takes a commitment I do not have at this stage of the game.
Well, I personally tend to agree with you on nearly every point. I was raised Catholic, and except for a few of the more glamorous Old Testament stories back in grade school, and some of the Gospel readings, the Catholics at Saint Luke's (Temple city!) didn't depend much on the Bible. Episcopalians do more so, but still, I am more of a New Testament Christian, myself. Being gay, I often have some passages from Leviticus thrown at me. BUT I notice when I ask those people about eating pork or shellfish, wearing mixed fibers, shaving, etc. - the big answer is always "Oh, THAT's different." Right - becuase it's YOU.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's pretty much what I see with trump and his ilk. It's always different if it's them. Melania and her parents coming here on visas that rump wants to get rid of - well, her being here at all, and being his third wife - well, that's different. There is no arguing with a trump supporter - they have sold their souls and forfeited whatever minds they still had. I personally think that whole bunch is just evil. Certainly liars and hypocrites. But see? Now I am a bad christian for judging -which I am sure they'd love to point out.
Oh, but can't we just mention don jr and kimberly and their performances the other night? I guess she has forgotten that she used to be married to Gavin Newsom? Oh, stop me now - it's too easy to go on!
Tom