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Toxic Evangelization; The Vile Christian
Disease that Has Killed Millions and Destroyed Hundreds of Cultures
by Rob Kall
www.OpEdNews.com
I cannot believe that when Jesus told his
followers to bring his message to the world, he meant for it to be
done in the monstrous way that missionaries and Monarchs, Crusaders,
Mega-church Leaders and televangelists have done so over the last two
millenia.
The teachings of Christ are beautiful.
The examples Christ set were extraordinary, but the sins of the
followers who have distorted or, in Christ's name, acted contrary to
the teachings, so horrible, so evil that there is no doubt that if
Christ was to return, he'd cast these despicable maggots (and that's
an insult to real maggots) out of the temples, out of the churches off
the airwaves and into the nearest cesspools, latrines and garbage
heaps.
It is the bogus claim that Christians
must aggressively evangelize that is driving fundamentalists to force
divisive cultural issues into politics. Of course venal politicians
without a scintilla of spiritual marrow are using the proclivities of
these misguided Christians to build their power.
The root of toxic evangelization is the
arrogant, ego-based belief that Christianity is better than other
religions. This attitude is used to justify the aggressive tactics
used to destroy indigenous cultures and attack other religions.
There are plenty of Christians who do NOT
feel the need to go out and convert others. These are the same
Christians who tend to disapprove of war-- Quakers, Unitarians.....
This proves there is a viable, wholesome Christian model that honors
the teachings of Jesus while also respecting others.
In the New Testament, Jesus is quoted as
saying,
"In
my Father's house there are many mansions."
—John 14:2. I take this to mean that there are many ways that
people can come to live with God, many paths, many temples, mosques,
churches that are all in God's mansion. This statement precedes by
just a few lines and breaths, that is often cited by evangelist
missionaries,
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way,
and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me." John 14:6
And the new pope
Benedict the 16th, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was responsible for
"Declaration Dominus Iesus" which reads
"If it is true that
the followers of other religions can receive
divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in
a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in
the church, have
the fullness of
the means of salvation."
Dr. Joseph Hough, President of Union
Theological Seminary,commenting on this bedrock phrase used by
evangelists "It is a weak faith that
does not trust God in freedom to be working everywhere for
the redemption of
the world and its people. It can also appear to
be an arrogant faith because
the human being who claims an exclusionary faith
necessarily limits God's freedom. What is essential for Christian
faith is that we know we have seen
the face of God in
the face of Jesus Christ. It is not necessary for
us to deny that another has seen God in another face at another place
or time.
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/chapel/Sermon%20Files/2005_sermons/042405way.htm
)
A few
weeks ago, BIll Frist broadcast a message to 100 churches on "justice
Sunday." I'd say those 100 churches would be an easy starting
point for identifying the worst offenders of the most basic rules of a
contemporary religion, as I've discussed in my previous article,
Creating a Set of Laws for All Religions .
Reverend Jim Wallis wrote in
sojourners magazine, commenting on Frist's abomination,
"Behind these activities lies a
fundamental assumption by Republican operatives and their conservative
religious allies that they own religion in America. They demand that
religious people vote only their
way. They claim that "values voters" in America belong to them,
and they disrespect
the faith of those who disagree with their
agenda. There are better words for this than just "politically
divisive" or "morally irresponsible." For these are not merely
political offenses, they are religious ones. And for offenses such as
these, theological terms are better - terms such as idolatry and
blasphemy.”
It is time for "good" Catholics to face
the reality that their church is chronically infested with pedophiles,
that its leaders have consciously chosen to ignore these monsters who
have preyed upon innocent children and faithful believers, that its
leaders have used the power of the church to influence nations, while
failing to stop wars and horrible inhumanities, not a few times but on
countless occasions.
It is time for evangelicals to wake up
and realize that a truly omniscient, all-powerful God does need to
be worshipped one way, that defining one religious path as better is
truly a sign of a weak religion, a religion that does not believe in
the power of its own values and teachings.
It is time for the people of this
planet to establish a set of rules for civilized religions to
respect and observe three simple rules--
-that all religions deserve respect,
except those that do NOT respect others,
-no religion which respects other
religions is better than any other, (and that all religions which
respect other respecting religions are better than religions which
fail to respect other faiths.)
-No religion has the right to force
others who are not voluntary members of that religion to abide by
that religion's rules.
Already, just about every major
religion has branches that would gladly and easily accept these
rules, comprising billions of people. Unfortunately, there are also
branches of each faith that fail to follow these basic concepts.
Those branches contribute more to the dark side of humanity-- war,
poverty, injustice, lack of basic rights and freedoms-- than the
rest of population of the world.
It is frightening to even consider
taking on some of the huge organized religions who function like
Neanderthals, stuck in their egoistic fantasies of superiority,
attempting to force their own values and beliefs upon their
neighbors. But we must face the reality that these hulking,
grotesque dinosaurs must be either rehabilitated or put out to
field, that their evangelizing and leadership must be treated as a
corruption of originally inspired and beautiful teachings,
corruptions that have become a dangerous threat to the future of
this planet and humanity.
There are plenty of models of
spirituality in every religion that allow for the three simple rules
to be followed. These rules are but a beginning to the further
evolution of religion as humankind becomes more and more conscious.
We have a responsibility to awaken the sleeping billions who are
still under the sway of dark visions of distorted and corrupted
original positive visions. While in the past I politely accepted the
proselytizing efforts of evangelicals, I have made a decision
to not be so nice, and instead, to confront them with their
arrogance, their misguided ideas. the betrayal by their leaders and
the weakness of their model. I doubt it will be pretty.
by Rob Kall, editor,
www.OpEdNews.com
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