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There’s Just No Pleasing Some People
Posted February 6, 2004 thepeoplesvoice.org
By: Kerry Tomasi ktomasi@abcs.com
Judging by the irate reaction
to my recent ‘What Would Jesus Do’ essay, I obviously must have struck
a nerve among some of the right wingers. What has me puzzled, though, is
what kind of nerve has been struck?
It’s odd. You’d think a letter encouraging people to investigate,
through Bible study, what Jesus might actually think of our current state
of affairs would be overwhelmingly endorsed by the fundamentalist
Christian community. At the very least you’d think they’d be neutral
or indifferent. But instead it’s – “Let’s shoot the messenger!”
The same thing occurred following my Ten Commandment articles. I simply
pointed out that if the government were to enforce the 'Ten', based on the
very same biblical books in which they're contained, it would result in
the immediate execution of 90% of our citizenry. The response - “Stone
Him!!”
What gives?
All my life I’ve been told to read and study my bible. When I do, and
then happen to bring up something of profound significance that’s in
there - like when it calls for the execution of disobedient children,
non-virgin brides, and adulterers (those who marry divorced people); or
when Jesus says to pray in silence, love your enemies, and give all your
money to the poor – I’m immediately the recipient of that most popular
right wing ‘rebuttal’: “Why don’t you just shut up you hateful
person you!”
(In fact, when I distill almost all of the right wing responses I’ve
ever received down to their fundamental essence, “Why don’t you just
shut up you hateful person you!” pretty much sums them all up.)
I can somewhat understand them not wanting to let the Old Testament ‘cat
out of the bag’, as I imagine most of those calling for governmental
promotion of the Ten C's, don’t really want to see them biblically
enforced. It's more likely this is just one of those faith-buttressing
‘the government’s on my side’ type of things.
But I don’t get the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ anger.
I mean, when Jesus says to humble yourself and avoid hypocritical
appearances, to pray in silence behind closed doors, to render unto Caesar
(pay taxes), to love your enemies, and for the rich to give all their
money to the poor, well… I think these traits describe today’s right
wing fundamentalist Christian Republicans, and their ‘chosen one’ G.W.
Bush, absolutely perfectly! Don’t you?
So where would all that anger be coming from? I thought they’d be
delighted that I pointed these things out!
Some people, it seems, are just hard to please no matter what you do.
But I vow to keep trying.
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© Copyright 2004 All rights reserved
by Kerry Tomasi ktomasi@abcs.com
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