{by Rev. Paul M. Turner, Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta}
July 2012 was the last time I wrote. Did I go on vacation? Quit writing blogs? Run out of things to write about or say?
No, No, and God knows No!
Simply put, I just got tired of having to write about the crap the religious and political right keeps lying about. How many times does one have to prove something is a lie before people begin to understand the game that is being played?
I realize one of the many reasons “stupidity” rules is because most people are like lightening. That is they take the path of least resistance. Most, (not all folks) are too lazy or too trusting to really check out information coming their way and so people who are looking to have power and control get it. Maybe one day we will really take hold of the old sayings: “Trust Allah … but tie up your Camel” or today's translation “Trust But Verify”.
So as we go into 2013 I thought I would do something which will allow me to write about more interesting things and to help the reader not be bored to death with repetitive stuff.
With the next couple of blogs I am going to cover the most obscene lies and un-truths the religious and political right continue to say, write, and shout out on almost a daily basis.
This way, you the reader get to read the truth, once. We deal with the fact it is a lie and why, once, and when they bring it up again I can simply refer back to this blog. Sweet!
So without further delay here are the lies listed in bold type and my answers or thoughts concerning each.
LIE #1: All the shootings and really bad weather is because God is punishing the country for its acceptance of homosexuality, marriage equality, lack of God in the public square, drug use, prostitution, long hair, short skirts etc.
For all those out there living your lives as if God is some kind of puppet master, controlling our every thought and deed, please stop. God as part of the process of creation gave humanity a free will, the ability to choose.
This means that most of the crisis in the world is our own making and or because we are ill prepared to deal with whatever naturally occurring thing has just happened.
For those who think they know the Bible as an explanation for everything…remember after the great flood God said God was not going to do that again. Then there is, at least for the Christian, this Jesus fella who if we follow his teaching we avoid a whole lot of the crap we do to each other.
People we need to wake up and take responsibility for the stupid stuff we choose to do and stop blaming God because we choose (That 'Free Will' thing again!) to be mean and evil to folks.
Do we need a concrete example here? How about the idiot who chooses to have one last drink before leaving the bar? He or she gets in the car and leaves the bar. Before long they are left of center killing 5 people in an awful collision. It was the idiot’s drinking that caused those deaths, not God. In fact I am sure God received those killed into God’s arms with love and compassion for their sudden transition.
LIE #2: Guns do not kill people, people kill people.
Let’s get this straight, “People with guns, kill people”. Guns have one main function, which is to kill. So when this conversation starts I really wish those on the right would quit trying to convince me and others they have their gun for target practice, hunting and protection. They have a gun because they are willing to use it to kill, period. Don’t respond, just let that float in your head for a second.
For those who say it is our 2nd amendment right, here is the exact wording of the amendment:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
According to Wikipedia, “In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two landmark decisions concerning the Second Amendment. In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia[1][2] and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. In dicta, the Court listed many longstanding prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession as being consistent with the Second Amendment.[3] In McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025 (2010), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment limits state and local governments to the same extent that it limits the federal government.[4]”
I put this here hoping to force the reader to read for themselves the actual amendment and then read what the Supreme Court said. After you have read for yourself the amendment and the court rulings, I will just raise with you the real issue. The main function of a gun is to kill something, most of the time it is another human being.
For those of who claim to be Christian and follow the teachings of Jesus we are not given the option of being able to kill another human being only and unless we are sin free. So Christians why do you own that gun again? Don’t respond, just think on that.
Next lie: “There is a full scale war on Christmas”
The only people in the world who believe this crap are Fox News, and followers of the Evangelical TV shows who simply need ratings and donations. How Bill O’Rielly was able to get the attention of the public around this fraud is beyond me.
If there is a war on Christmas, why pray tell do all the Christmas decorations come out in the stores right after Halloween is finished. Why do Churches everywhere begin planning special services and special programs as of the first week in November?
By the way, just for fun let’s do a little truth telling. The vast majority of scholars and historians agree on these facts: Jesus was not born on December 25th. Jesus was born in a cave to an un-wed couple. No inn, no manger, no animals and we wonder why the religious right needed to invent the “war on Christmas”.
Also, here is a full explanation for this lie:
http://www.reverendbitchsir.blogspot.com/2011/12/wag-dog-of-christmas.html
Next lie: “Financial blessing is the will of God for Christians, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to Christian ministries will always increase one's material wealth.”
Of course this is the lie that is told by those of the Mega church variety especially those espousing the new prosperity theology.
Of course a close reading of the gospel finds that Jesus never used the words prosper or prosperity. In fact, he taught the exact opposite.
To follow and believe this lie is too allow only one person to get rich and it will not be you.
Next lie: The Bible is the inerrant word of God.
http://record.americanbible.org/content/bible-qa/number-english-translations-bible
Of the 900 English versions which is the Word of God without error? Please don’t try to make the case for the “King James” version, as there are more translation errors in this version then holes found in Swiss cheese.
Couple other facts to consider before one believes this lie: We have no original copies of the bible.
In addition the Bible is, and always has been, a selected collection of historical writings by many different people, in many different languages.
Then there are books or writings that were left out of what we call canon starting in 310 AD, “just because”.
The Bible is sacred, it is good for teaching our faith, it is holy and that does not change just because there might be an error or two.
And lastly for this blog, this lie: America is the best thing that has happened in world history as we have brought peace to the world. Or I guess this has to do with the lie of American exceptionalism.
Really?
Our Country is 236 years old. Of those 236 years we have been in a war of one kind or another or some kind of military action for a total of 165 years and still counting. In case you think my count is off here is the history:
War of Independence 1775-1783
Northwest Indian War 1785-1795
Quasi-War 1798-1800
Barbary Wars 1801-1815
War of 1812 1812-1815
1st Seminole War 1817-1818
2nd Seminole War 1835-1842
Mexican-American War 1846-1848
3rd Seminole War 1855-1858
Civil War 1861-1865
Indian Wars 1865-1898
Spanish-American War 1898
Philippine War 1898-1902
Boxer Rebellion 1900-1901
Mexican Revolution 1914-1919
Haiti Occupation 1915-1934
World War 1 1917-1918
World War 2 1941-1945
Korean War 1950-1953
Vietnam War 1964-1973
El Salvador 1980-1992
Beirut 1982-1984
Persian Gulf "Support" 1987-1988
Invasion of Grenada 1983
Invasion of Panama 1989
Persian Gulf War 1991
Somalia 1992-1993
Bosnia 1995
Afghanistan 2002-supposedly set to end in 2014
Iraq 2003-2011
1,317,348 Americans have died in these 30 conflicts. I could not find reliable figures for the number of people who were causalities at our hands, but suffice it to say I am sure it is far greater than 1.3 million.
Just since 1976 the United States have executed 3,260 of its citizens.
Killing people seems to be what we do best. We glorify killing, we put it up in the bright lights of Hollywood, we sprinkle it all through our theology and we justify it as “free speech”.
We call a movie with two people “making love” pornography and call it immoral. We make movies showing people being blown to bits and we give them academy awards.
We are anything but peaceful and if we are exceptional it is because we have become very efficient at killing people and making it look like it is every bodies else’s fault.
Well, this is enough for y’all to digest for a couple of weeks. Imagine how different the world, and this country might be if we hadn’t bought into these 6 lies.
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