Sunday, December 13, 2009

AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE: AN OPEN LETTER FROM JESUS TO 'CHRISTIAN' AMERICA, BY FRANK SCHAEFFER

Most of the institutional Church has defamed Christianity, Christ's Church, Christians worthy of the name, Jesus, and God by having a very long record of bearing false witness, degrading, and discriminating against minority groups, such as Gay people, that they feel are "safe" to persecute.

And, most of the leadership of the institutional Church and their gullible followers have the temerity to invoke God, Jesus, and the Bible, along with simplistic, erroneous, and irrational sound bites and buzz words such as "traditional family values," "for the good of our children," etc., to seek to justify the unjustifiable, and to seek to lend rationality to the irrational xenophobia that they display that is diametrically opposed to Jesus' teachings and very life!

One can not assume that just because someone calls him/herself a "Christian" that he/she is not a mere thug! And, what's worse, he/she is a thug who thinks that God is on his/her side when he/she actively contributes to the suffering, suicides, assaults, and murders of God's LGBT children!

I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again: Every single drop of blood shed by LGBT people through suicide, assault, and murder is on the hands of every professing Christian who either advocates discrimination against LGBT people or who remains silent amidst the oppression of LGBT people!

As I wrote in an article entitled, Gay Bashing: The Politics of Religion:

"Make no mistake, every drop of blood shed by GLBT people either through suicide, bashing, or murder, are on the hands of all those religious leaders, their followers, and their allies who spew forth their ignorance, prejudice, and hate against GLBT people and their relationships! These wolves in sheep's clothing take the Bible, God's love letter to His children, and selectively and perversely use it as a club to condemn others, and deny GLBT people full inclusion in the Church and in society.

The tradition-bound parts of the Church have so indoctrinated people, many of whom have never even set foot in a house of worship, that many people even disown their own children when they "come out" and divulge their sexual orientation to those whom they thought unconditionally loved and cherished them. There are many children living on the streets because their own parents trusted ignorant clergy and their followers over their God-given duty and privilege to nurture and embrace their own children!
(See here.)

In his excellent article, An Open Letter From Jesus to "Christian" America, Frank Schaeffer hits the nail on the head regarding the hypocrisy of all too many professing Christians' hateful animus toward one or more minority groups that they feel are "safe" and even "godly" to persecute.

Of course, the minority group de jour that so many professing Christians view as acceptable to oppress is comprised of LGBT people, and it's a crying shame that many people believe their lies borne out of ignorance and/or downright hate!


Here is an excerpt from the article by Frank Schaeffer [Pictured], an article that I strongly urge you to read in its entirety:

You American Christians utterly defaced the name of Christianity with your racism, your slavery and your bigotry against women. And now you're doing it again in your war against gay men and women and in your war against the poor who have no health care. Some of you even have had it as part of your wicked program to reestablish the Biblical law demanding death to gay people that I clearly showed must be broken by the greater law of love. Well, as you judge so you will be judged. Good luck with that!

Do you think the Kingdom of God is more likely to belong to, a wealthy "Christian" leader who preaches hate and exclusion (even when saying "I love everyone and only hate the sin") or to the least of these, the disenfranchised who want nothing more than to enjoy the same rights of other citizens? Do you think God does not see that the poor have no care and die because your greedy (lying) insurance lobby has your so called Congress in their pockets?

You hypocrites and liars! You say you're preaching my gospel when my gospel never was about correct belief or correct behavior. My gospel was about not judging others, making room for everyone at the table, loving your neighbor as you love yourself. If gay men and women are your enemy then, as you know, I commanded you to love them! And if they are asking to be allowed to marry I commanded you to give to him who asks of you! Besides, you don't own America. This is a democracy and yours is just one opinion.


[For the full article by Frank Schaeffer, see here.]
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4 comments:

DC HAMPTON JACOBS said...

A very provocative article, Jerry. It's well worth reading, but I think the premise of writing in Jesus Christ's name will backfire on Mr. Schaeffer. Not a good idea, in my opinion; our Savior spoke the truth as well as it could be spoken, and He needs no one to speak for Him.

As for ignoring the "dumb, harsh" parts of the Bible as he says, I beg to differ. Nobody needs to ignore anything. All anybody needs to do is read the Bible with common sense! Not everything in its pages is a rule meant for Christians to follow. The rules that Christians follow were laid down by just one individual, Jesus Christ.

It's the Gospels that we look to for Divine authority. Not the Levitican code; not the prophets; not even the letters of the Apostle Paul! As I've said before, all books of the Bible are NOT created equal! What's more, a Christian does not live on the Bible alone. A Christian must seek an interactive relationship with God; there's no substitute for doing that.

You can be thousands of miles away from a Bible and still be enriched by the Holy Spirit! God needs no vessel through which to reach your heart; when He wants to come into your life, He just comes! That's how Paul was converted.

I submit that Christianity doesn't require contact with any particular tome or talisman or preacher or church in order to be valid. What makes it valid is adherence to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. That, in a nutshell, is Mr. Schaeffer's core argument, and I agree with it 100%.

Jerry Maneker said...

Beautifully put, Don Charles! "I submit that Christianity doesn't require contact with any particular tome or talisman or preacher or church in order to be valid. What makes it valid is adherence to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. That, in a nutshell, is Mr. Schaeffer's core argument, and I agree with it 100%." AMEN!!!! Best wishes, Jerry.

Anonymous said...

Actually, America is not a democracy! It is a secular republic where rights of minorities are supposed to be protected by the framers' intelligent design.

EdM
"Fin des Voies Rapides (If Peak Oil Were No Object)
heet://ifpeakoilwerenoobject.blogspot.com/

Jerry Maneker said...

Amen, Anonymous!!!!