At 09:45 AM 3/20/2005 -0800, Frank wrote: > Chatting with Jesus >Minister: Jesus, what do you think of the recent presidential election? >Jesus: In the United States? >Minister: Yes. >Jesus: I don't do politics. >Minister: But the President is a Christian. He has dedicated his life to >serving you. >Jesus: He has dedicated his life to serving himself. That is the >opposite of what I teach. >Minister: But he's a Christian. >Jesus: He is an Old Testament Christian. The ancient Hebrew scriptures >say that God is an angry God, a vengeful God, a jealous God. But he is >not. Nor is he petty, nor vindictive, nor narrow minded, nor >self-righteous. God was not made in our image. He is not insecure or >emotionally immature. God is not like us, but in our better moments we >can be like him.
Frank, I appreciate the effort to challenge Bush on his Christianity and his devoutness. But I do want to take exception to a few things here (apart from the references to God as he and him, since even for believers in a god, god's "masculinity" should be avoided). There is no such thing as an "Old Testament Christian." Christians are people who believe that Jesus brought a new gospel that superceded the "Old Testament." People who believe exclusively in the Christian-denominated "Old Testament" do not call it that, and do not call themselves Christians. They call it the Torah, and are Jews. The ancient Hebrew scriptures sometimes refer to god as jealous and stern, and sometimes as the all-merciful, sometimes as the source of all righteousness (which is much different from 'self-righteousness'). Trying to identify anger, vengefulness, jealousy, pettiness, vindictiveness, and self-righteousness with the "Old Testament god" is a very wrong foot to start out on, to try to redeem Christianity from the crimes of its advocates and practitioners. The history of Christianity is replete with Christian warriors, crusades and holy wars, with emperors claiming divine right and religious and temporal authorities who practiced forced conversions and the execution of heretics and non-believers. Trying to make these crimes some kind of hangover or holdover from Judaism is shabby and irresponsible. Judaism has plenty to answer for on its own without having to be held responsible for the crimes carried out in the name of Christianity. --Michael ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give the gift of life to a sick child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/lGEjbB/6WnJAA/E2hLAA/7gSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
