The best article I've read tonight

[eleonora]

"Linking war with Iraq to an eschatological view of history intersects with the problem of ignorance of just war principles among evangelicals. Neither the President nor his supporters concern themselves with the justness of war, nor do they worry much about the consequences of war. Providence, according to Lears, “sanitizes the messy actualities of war and its aftermath. Like the strategists’ faith in smart bombs, faith in Providence frees one from having to consider the role of chance in armed conflict, the least predictable of human affairs. Between divine will and American know-how, we have everything under control.” Providence greatly simplifies things. God has given Winthrop’s “city upon the hill” this war, and Americans should put their trust in the Lord (and Bush).

The intensity of religiosity among Bush supporters also explains the source of the extraordinary passion of contemporary warmongering and the intense antipathy towards those who oppose war. Not only are those who oppose Bush “unpatriotic” and “unAmerican,” but they are also heretical for refusing to accept the mission that God has made for all Americans. Peace activists are thwarting the crusade. They are godless liberals bent on tearing down the nation and this president whom God has chosen for greatness.

How dense is reactionary religious fervor? The country is moving into an era, Lears warns, where the “more humane interpretations of” Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, “are increasingly ignored.” The major faiths are bending towards fundamentalism, where “the ideologues take command, convinced that they are doing God’s will.”



http://www.publiceye.org/apocalyptic/bush-2003/austin-providence.html



The author has nailed it. How to even begin to fight Bush administration when they and their supporters think whatever happens is God's will????

[purduejake]

1. I think it's the worst article all night!

=)

[eleonora]

2. well, know thy enemy...right? n/t

[doni_georgia]

3. Jesus opposed the religious leaders of his day - We are in good company

This is what keeps me sane. The right-wing is so like the hypocritical religious leaders of Jesus's day. They have selectively chosen which parts of the Bible to follow and which parts to ignore. They have embraced the law instead of embracing love. They are so uncomfortable with Jesus and his message that they have invented a Christ of their own. If Jesus came again preaching the gospel of peace, they wouldn't even recognize him. They want no part of a Christ who tells them to love their enemies, remove the log from their own eyes, turn the other cheek, feed the sheep, etc. The church we used to go to has this on their web site: "We are a warring people." Hatred is their mantra. They claim to love the sinner but hate the sin, yet they're actions speak far louder than their words. These are people who had they been standing around when Jesus said, "Let him without sin cast the first stone," would have picked up the rocks and begun throwing them. They are so blinded by false doctrines and hate that they cannot see the truth, even when that truth is laying there before them in the book they claim to be the inerrant word of God.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

4. Exactly. Right on. this is what I mean when I say RealChristians(TM)

The people who have not forgotten that Christ's first teachings were of peace and tolerance, love and understanding. And that His mission led Him to a horrific death to prove a point.

We have the same national battle in minature in our church this winter. A bunch of ignorant bullies who are faux-Lutherans are trying to run everything their way, and I suspect, given the standard behavior of this ilk, steal the place blind in the process. There are a few of us who will be standing up to them. If more of the sheep stand behind us, well we won't have anywhere to run when the shooting starts!

[eleonora]

5. Yes, and what a sad world we live in

Because their extremism is pushing a lot of people like me away.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. There's a difference between religion and spirituality

Religion is the fossilization of the teachings of whatever prophet founded that particular religion. The heart of the teachings are often ignored and the outer trappings, especially those which divide and seperate people, are played up. The idea that the tenets of any particular religion are merely concepts of God, and not God, are definately played down.

Spirituality, on the other hand, is a direct link to the core teachings, and is transmitted through God's grace, often with the help of a spiritual teacher, guide, or guru. It is direct personal experience, and as such is individualized. Even so, a mystic is one who sees the unity, not the divisiveness. I have communed with Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Native Americans, Buddhists, pagans, and have come to realize it is, at the heart of things, all one Truth. Tolerance, openness, love, and forgiveness are all a part of that truth. A mystic realizes that God can never be fully comprehended, and that one goes through life generating concepts of God that will, sooner or later, be shattered as one knows and understands God better.