I'm Tired

I am really tired of saying, "I'm a Christian."

What difference does it make?

Does it carry any weight with the evangenitals?

Certainly not.

They would only call me a liar.

Does it carry weight with anyone else?

If folks think of Christianity only as it shows in the

Evangenitals, then I hope it carries some weight.

If folks think all christians are just plain nuts, I hope that

My presence counters that a wee bit.

On the other hand, maybe I'm nuts, too.

But I'll say it again.

"I'm a Christian."

And I'm not alone in this faith family.

Thank God.

There are plenty of folks who take the Christian Faith

Seriously.

Not to hate, but to love.

No walls to build, but only bridges.

Who know when to be quiet.

Like when #BLM protestors march.

I'm a Christian, and a universalist.

That doesn't answer all the questions.

But it does answer a few.

But, heck, it's not about questions.

Or answers.

It's about the simpler stuff of life.

Like wearing a mask.

And paying attention to the experts God has given us.

And knowing when its time to change a flag and

Remove a monument.

And a cup of cold water.

A determination to live "all are equal."

I believe in a woman's right to choose her medical treatments.

I believe in a man's right to have a decent job.

I believe in child's right to have a good education.

I believe that Rumpy is evil

McConnell even more so.

And all the evangenitals just plain crazy.

I'm tired.

Really tired of all the lies and deceptions.

I'm tired of the GOP.

And all the rest of this perverted gang of thieves.

And because I'm tired of them.

Really, really, tired.

I'll put up with being tired of saying:

"I'm a Christian."

Which I am.

And for that I give thanks.

Evan as I give thanks for friends who are

Muslims.

Siks.

Jews.

Atheists.

And whatever else the human spirit comes up with.

And even the

Evangenitals.

Who, if nothing else, serve the purpose of making it clear:

What NOT to be.

Political Parties, Politicians, All Alike

To a post complaining that the parties are all the same, I wrote the following:

True certainly, but not entirely accurate ... there was a difference between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, between Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, between Hoover and FDR ... Goldwater and Johnson, Hillary and Trump. 

Historically, our choices have always been limited, but such is life - we have to parse the differences, and go with the differences that have a better chance of calling forth some of our better angels. 

Every president has caused problems, and solved problems - some have catered to the Oligarchy, some have remembers the people.

Our present darkness is unique to Rumpy. Hillary might very well have created her own set of problems that we would protest, but the current configuration of wealth and religion would not have occurred with a Hillary administration.

Jesus Was Clear

Jesus was clear, painfully clear, I’m sure, that only a few of the religious leaders sitting on top of the social, religious, financial, heap called The Holy City would give him the time of the day.

The rest would be happy to see him go away, and if not going away voluntarily, they’d be more than happy to help him on his way.

Jesus didn’t spend a lot of time trying to convince the inconvincible. 

He understood the human tragedy, that power and wealth are more than enough to undo the soul and create monstrous ideas and behavior. 

Some can resist the allure of wealth and the power it bestows, but most succumb, in one degree or another. Some maintain a balance, but a lot of folks dive into the money bin like old Scrooge McDuck.

Jesus addresses the question of wealth multiple times, not so much to convince the Oligarchy, but to trouble them, disturb, distress, and discomfort them, compelling them to do their worst, to reveal to them, maybe, and to reveal most certainly to the world, their naked villainy (thaniks to Shakespeare for the phrase) and rapacious ways. 

Jesus knew the likely course of events, and remained true to God’s calling, to be faithful, to be truthful, and, as needed, to put his life on the line, which, in the end, he had to do. 

It was die, or lie. 

Satan was hoping that Jesus would choose the lie, but much to Satan’s disappointment, Jesus chose instead to die. Believing, hoping, wondering, if his death would finally mean something. But whatever it might or might not mean, Jesus turned from the lie offered so eloquently and so richly adorned, to die between two thieves, two more men deemed “useless” and “dangerous” by the ruling elite, who washed their hands of the whole thing, because they had better things to do.

So, Jesus spent most of his time with the disciples, in whom he had great hopes … maybe. 

And time, too, with those deemed by the Oligarchy as worthless, dangerous, sinful; the down-and-out who deserved their sad lot in life, for whatever reasons the rich and the powerful so decided. 

The rich and the powerful always need folks on the bottom so that the rich and the powerful might congratulate themselves on their own faith, their moral character, their god, their energy and their abilities, while dropping a few coins into the charity box, making them feel even more superior, and even more wonderful.

Jesus spent his time with those who had a chance to be real.

Jesus sought the lost.

Healed the broken.

Lifted up the downtrodden.

Gave hope to the desolate.

Walked with the lonely.

Visited the stranger.

Crossed boundaries.

Went fishing.

Made breakfast on the beach.

Gave life to the dead.

And light to all the darkened corners.

He spent his time where there was hope for a better day. 

With people who were eager to hear his message, even though they most likely didn’t understand much of it, but they knew that he was tweaking the noses of the proud and the pompous, and the crowds loved him for that … and also the food and the fellowship … and even their own ill-formed hopes of some kind of a Messiah, who might just help them throw off the chains of Rome, chains forged by violent leaders and a brutal military police, aided and abetted by the Jerusalem elite who were more than happy to see their own people suffer even as they enjoyed their resorts and golf courses.

All right, they didn’t play golf.

But they would’ve if they could’ve.

Conservatives Love Categories

Conservatives love categories ... racial, nation-of-origin, color, religion, class, gender, orientation, age, size, intelligence, shape of the head, or whatever else can used to divide and conquer, leading to social discord and war.

All of these categories, for the Conservative, define who's in and who's out, who counts and who doesn't, who has rights and who shouldn't have any. And if of a christian bent, who's going to heaven, and who's going to hell.

These Covid-19 Days have seen added to the mix of categories: the elderly, the health-compromised, and the incarcerated.

It's ok for the elderly to get sick and die ... and the health-compromised, too ... and surely the incarcerated. What are they doing in prison in the first place? Shame on them.

The Conservative Mind is rigid with its distinctions and more than willing to cast off those deigned inferior, dangerous, or undeserving.

If you're a Conservative and don't like what I've written, ask yourself Why?

Do you rely on these kinds of categories to distinguish yourself from others? Believe yourself (humbly, of course) to be morally superior, spiritually higher in rank, closer to God, more deserving of life, privilege, and comfort?

In the realm of God, which is important to me, and sets the standard, or so I believe, these sorts of distinctions are a script from hell, and not of Christ, nor of the Hebrew Prophets.

To Christ, and to the Prophets, I look for guidance ... as best I can. I may be mistaken, but I think a life lived with with open arms is a whole lot more peace-inducing and rewarding than a life lived with arms folded in a defiant rejection of others.

Common Ground?

Some folks talk hopefully about finding common ground ... at this point in the unfolding debacle of American History, I'm wondering about such pollyanna dreams.

Was there common ground in the run up to the Civil War?

Was there common ground when lynching and burning-crosses were de rigueur?

Was there common ground at the Edmund Pettus Bridge?

Was there common ground when Sen. McCarthy was fomenting fear and hatred with his alcoholic rantings?

Was there common ground when Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers?

And let's take a trip to Poland, 1939 - was there common ground when Nazi bombers pummeled the Polish People?

Was there common ground when the Nazis built the death camps?

Sure, maybe things aren't quite that bad, so let's return to the States.

What about common ground in Charlottesville?

Common ground at the Border where children are snatched from parents and caged?

Common ground with those who believe that LGBTQ persons are the spawn of hell and the death of America?

Common ground with those who believe that women have no right to choose their own level of health care?

Common ground with those who believe in White Supremacy?

I don't know ... I'm really sad about all of this.

What it means to me, however, is to keep on trying for some common ground, but not to be fooled by illusory prospects, nor to lessen my own commitment to justice and the things of a better world, as I see it: marriage equality, universal health care, abortion rights, environmental commitments, DACA, abolition of student debt, support of unions and collective bargaining, tight regulation of Wall Street and banking, full funding of public schools, the repair of our infrastructure, job re-training, renewal energy, and a ton of other needful things.

The divide is deep, the divide is real.

Maybe you can help me here.