Like many of my generation I have jammed along to the Rolling Stones on more than one occasion. The Stones are definitely unlike the one-hit-wonder corporate rock and roll of modern times. Most people reading this can name at least two or more classic Rolling Stone songs and may even be able to sing the words. As a Christian there has always been one of their songs in particular that tended to creep me out - Sympathy For the Devil. They have countless ballads of peace and love that any open minded person of faith can easily find their soul singing along to. Yet, that song seems to throw a hypocritical red herring into an otherwise long history of spiritual poetic rhythms. I cannot help but see the analogy between Sympathy For the Devil and today's modern evangelical support of right wing politics.
There has been much talk about the Republican "base" of Evangelical voters and Christian conservatives banding their flocks together to keep Republicans in power. However, many of them are starting to wake up to the fact that they are being used on a grand scale. And yet there are still those who are "asleep at the pew" and ready to vote Republican on baseless moral grounds. Personal wedge issues are made the focus while morality as a whole is debased most by the politicians wearing their faith on their sleeves.
I have a question I would love to ask of all the religious wingnuts. If their mythology is true and Jesus decided to come back tomorrow, how do they
think George W. Bush, his demonic administration, and Republican enablers in Congress would react? A) Would they allow a peace-loving, liberal, hippie to make peace on Earth and all men and women to be equal? OR B)Go to war with God to maintain their power, control, and fortunes? They know the answer would be (B)! So my next question would be... Doesn't that make him the Antichrist according to their mythology???
That same mythology would also label psuedo-religious leaders like Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, (and dont get me started on Pastor massage-n-meth Ted Haggard), who preach political support for their endtimes boogieman as "false prophets." It is like really admiring the Star Wars story for it's timeless morality tale of the battle between good and evil and then deciding to model your real life after Darth Vader's Stormtroopers. No wonder they call it a "flock!" These people are sheep!!!
Maybe more will be waking up to the fact they are being used after seeing the complete and total hypocrisy of the Republican party. It's hard for a
president to convince anyone he is pro-life when it comes to banning stem cell research while thousands are being sent to their deaths in Iraq. It is also ironic that the very party that puts forth a homophobic agenda turns out to be full of closeted homosexuals and pedophiles. Tax cuts for the "money changers" and no help for the meek and the poor are certainly not traits of Jesus either. Wars and rumors of war have been a major theme
of this administrations policies. It's not what you say, it's what you do.
For real Christians and people of faith the mantra for the next election cycles should be, "It's the hypocrisy stupid!" We have all heard the acronym, "WWJD - What would Jesus Do," but a more suitable acronym in this age of hypocrisy would be, "WWTDTJ - What would They Do to Jesus!"
David Kuo, a born-again Christian and former White House aide who wrote the book "Tempting Faith, An Inside Story of Political Seduction," said Haggard's situation is magnified by his and other evangelicals' involvement in Republican politics. "It's religious hypocrisy with a political rocket booster," said Kuo, who thinks politics is corrupting Christianity. "It's tragedy enough if a pastor falls, but this is not about a pastor falling. This is about a politician falling, and the politician is bringing down Jesus with him."
What Would They Do To Jesus indeed.
There has been much talk about the Republican "base" of Evangelical voters and Christian conservatives banding their flocks together to keep Republicans in power. However, many of them are starting to wake up to the fact that they are being used on a grand scale. And yet there are still those who are "asleep at the pew" and ready to vote Republican on baseless moral grounds. Personal wedge issues are made the focus while morality as a whole is debased most by the politicians wearing their faith on their sleeves.
I have a question I would love to ask of all the religious wingnuts. If their mythology is true and Jesus decided to come back tomorrow, how do they
think George W. Bush, his demonic administration, and Republican enablers in Congress would react? A) Would they allow a peace-loving, liberal, hippie to make peace on Earth and all men and women to be equal? OR B)Go to war with God to maintain their power, control, and fortunes? They know the answer would be (B)! So my next question would be... Doesn't that make him the Antichrist according to their mythology???
That same mythology would also label psuedo-religious leaders like Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, (and dont get me started on Pastor massage-n-meth Ted Haggard), who preach political support for their endtimes boogieman as "false prophets." It is like really admiring the Star Wars story for it's timeless morality tale of the battle between good and evil and then deciding to model your real life after Darth Vader's Stormtroopers. No wonder they call it a "flock!" These people are sheep!!!
Maybe more will be waking up to the fact they are being used after seeing the complete and total hypocrisy of the Republican party. It's hard for a
president to convince anyone he is pro-life when it comes to banning stem cell research while thousands are being sent to their deaths in Iraq. It is also ironic that the very party that puts forth a homophobic agenda turns out to be full of closeted homosexuals and pedophiles. Tax cuts for the "money changers" and no help for the meek and the poor are certainly not traits of Jesus either. Wars and rumors of war have been a major theme
of this administrations policies. It's not what you say, it's what you do.
For real Christians and people of faith the mantra for the next election cycles should be, "It's the hypocrisy stupid!" We have all heard the acronym, "WWJD - What would Jesus Do," but a more suitable acronym in this age of hypocrisy would be, "WWTDTJ - What would They Do to Jesus!"
David Kuo, a born-again Christian and former White House aide who wrote the book "Tempting Faith, An Inside Story of Political Seduction," said Haggard's situation is magnified by his and other evangelicals' involvement in Republican politics. "It's religious hypocrisy with a political rocket booster," said Kuo, who thinks politics is corrupting Christianity. "It's tragedy enough if a pastor falls, but this is not about a pastor falling. This is about a politician falling, and the politician is bringing down Jesus with him."
What Would They Do To Jesus indeed.
