Damn, I'm on a roll.

I've been thinking a lot lately about Republican and Libertarian political stances. Most of these people, AFAICT, call themselves Christians. OK. But what I'm wondering is, if they're Christians, then why do their beliefs sound more like LaVeyan Satanism than like the things Jesus supposedly said?

Example: Christianity teaches that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. I think none of them read that page. Another thing they don't appear to have read is when Jesus tell his people that they need to give all their stuff to the poor if they want to follow him.

OTOH, "LaVey felt that intelligent and strong people spent too much time caring for psychic vampires — weak individuals who always demanded attention and care, yet would never give any back. He taught that Satanists should strive to remove themselves as much as possible from such people in order to live in accordance to their instincts and individual wills." (This is from wikipedia.) This sounds a lot more like dog eat dog Republicans to me.

Going for a Record

OK, it's not technically the same day, but I'm still within 24 hours.

I've been thinking today about how, when you tell Christians that there's no historical evidence for Jesus, they say things like "well how do we know" x person/place/thing from history is real? My favorite one was when someone asked how we know the Mayflower was a real boat. LOL. You're asking a girl from Massachusetts, honey.

The Mayflower is still a real boat. It's still anchored in Plymouth, and I've been aboard it. That's how I know. Also, my father is a direct descendant of Gov. William Bradford. I'm pretty sure my father is real, and he bears an unmistakable family resemblance to some of the pictures in histories of the Bradford family.

So yeah. Some things you can actually prove with evidence and stuff. Imagine that!

Finished The Family

I finished reading Jeff Sharlet's The Family the other night. It was kind of dry, and fairly depressing. Not that I didn't like it. I did like it. I'm glad I read it. Now I get why the conservatives back the wars they do, but didn't want to get into WWII - no chance for proselytizing. They're right ready to leap into Vietnam or Iraq, because they have a chance to get converts. But who were they going to convert in Europe? Iraq has the extra added bonus of having oil, so the rich guys with oil stock love that.

Now I get how the Prayer Breakfast people managed to get their god stuck on the money, and in the Pledge. No previous president would go there, but Eisenhower caved.

So yeah, it cleared up a lot of things for me. I think people should read this book. Even Christians who agree with everything Sharlet says these people have done should read it. If they think the Family is doing the right thing, it might make them feel good.

Glenn Beckisms: Christians take note

I know an awful lot of fundamentalist Christians get angry every time someone mentions separation of church and state. But you know what? They really shouldn't.

Glenn Beck's Latest Heresy

This is what happens to religion when it gets political. Beck is spouting the old GOP line about how we should all just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, and forget about helping the poor. Let's pretend for a moment that Jesus was real. What the heck would he say about that? And what would he say about the fact that a huge number of "Christians" are buying into it? Because Beck is directly contradicting him.

Ask the Dalai Lama what he would think about not helping the poor (he's actually a real guy, so he could answer).

So what I'd like to know is this. Glenn Beck says that he does not want "the government to redistribute money from wealthy whites to victimized minorities."
Jesus says: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Matthew 19:21 (Also, "When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."" Luke 18:22.) Matthew, Mark and Luke all have verses about "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (That was Mark 10:25.) Beck is contradicting Jesus. So who are these people following? Beck or Jesus? I'll give you three guesses, and the hint that it's not Jesus.

When religion gets political, the religion suffers just as much as the state from the combination. Beck and his super-conservative GOP buddies are rewriting the religion, and since they're saying what the sheep want to hear, those sheep are letting them.