I am ASTOUNDED at the glaring inconsistency of anyone claiming to follow Jesus and advocating the arming of people in our society with semi-automatic assault weapons. This is NOT of Christ.
Now, surely someone will say, "Yah, but what about when Jesus said to buy a sword (Luke 22:36)"?
Even the most staunch literalist must admit that Jesus did NOT advocate that they buy a BALLISTA or even a CROSSBOW that can kill many or some at a great distance. A sword was a weapon of defense against a very close threat. And Jesus also said, "All who take the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52)."
Semi-automatic assault weapons were not created to hunt animals. They were not created to target shoot. They were not created to look good. They were CREATED to kill a person a second. As quickly as you can pull the trigger, you can kill someone with one of these, AT A DISTANCE! They were modified from their original purpose of killing MANY PEOPLE within seconds, to "only" killing a person a second. They were CREATED for military use. While I still believe that God's plan is to "turn swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks", I understand the need for professional soldiers to have the standard issue of the day on the battlefield. These weapons of mass destruction do NOT belong in the hands of untrained citizens - ANY of them.
With the horrible murder of 20 children by someone barely over the age of a child, along with his mother and 6 teaching professionals, the nation is finally taking a serious look at assault weapons and why anyone should be able to have them. It was a tipping point, especially after so many other mass shootings in recent history. It is about time.
Now, the insecure and fearful, the aggressive and those who love abuses of power in violence are becoming more vocal about the "right" to own these weapons that have ONE PURPOSE. When they are not trying to convince people that the ownership of guns is mainstream and harmless, they are screaming about their "rights" and "need" to have these weapons for protection and the protection of their liberty (even if that means picking up such arms against their own government, given the right circumstances). They are not rational. They are not compassionate. They are certainly not moral or ethical. They CANNOT be followers of Jesus while doing this. I question their emotional and mental stability in their IRRATIONAL DESIRE to have such implements of death close to them, and in their INSISTENCE that the nation preserve those rights over the safety and well-being of the rest of society. I believe they are unstable and precisely the ones who should never be allowed to own such implements of death.
If you want to own a rifle for shotgun for hunting. Please seek screening and proper licensure and get one after proper training. If you want a revolver for target shooting and, yes, protection of your household, please do the same. We do not allow the legal purchase of hand grenades or rocket launchers, however, and implements of death designed to kill a person a second at great distances, with large ammunition capacities should not be a value in our society, and certainly not a commodity.
We had a period in our history during which practically everyone on the street had a handgun and/or rifle, and carried them. We replaced that with LAW and Law Enforcement, because it dawned on us that it was not safe and we actually GREW to a greater height of development as a society. Now, those less developed among us, less civilized and less considerate of others would have us return to that age. It is clearly an ethical, moral, intellectual, spiritual and societal regression.
The gun nuts will blame child-rearing, homosexuals, gambling, those who advocate a separation of church and state, having a black President, "those people" who might come and kill me, liberals, other things they consider to be "immoral" and anything else (except global warming) for the trend of largely young, white, suburban or small town males picking up weapons of mass destruction and using them in the way they were intended to be used among our citizenry, but the truth is...
We are a morally corrupt society because we value violence as a means to our desired ends, teach the lust for power that "superiority" in strength or fire power can get one, a belief that my individual rights trump the good and/or safety and well-being of anyone else or all others if need be, and a belief that if I am afraid, I am justified in hurting anyone out of that fear. We raise our children to be fascinated with weapons and we teach them well to look out for number one above all. These are NOT Kingdom Values, according to Jesus.
To WANT to own one of these weapons of mass destruction puts us at odds with our Creator, our society and our neighbor. It is simply IMMORAL.
The rest of us who want a more just, civil and gentle society had better stand and be counted NOW, while the conversation is going on, because with each one of these tragedies, we behold our future if we succumb to the irrational and violent hearted among us, and allow this insanity to escalate. We need to say "NO!" to the fear-mongers and self-preservationists and NOT allow the further creation of an IMMORAL society of violence, built on fear and hatred.
Read, learn, pray, speak, write and act for a less violent society.
Pastor Jamie
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
the "white establishment" and Obama's re-election
Bill O'Reilly's comment about the "white establishment" was at least borderline honest and accurate. He is lamenting the shrinking demographic power of those like him - the majority of power - white, straight males in America, especially those who are upper-middle class to wealthy...
What I saw was the hope of ALL people - a new majority of ALL, and not just those who have had power and wealth. The "us" verses "them" race/class divide has been going on way too long for us to know who started the class divide, though I have my guess. It was certainly around in Jesus' time, as He addressed it time and time again. But sometimes the true majority steps up and speaks loudly.
Straight, White, Wealthy males have a very developed sense of entitlement. They feel entitled to rule over others "beneath" them. They believe they should be entitled to exploit those "beneath" them, both here and abroad. They believe they are entitled to corporate welfare while demanding an end to public assistance to families and while receiving tax exemptions and breaks. They believe they are superior to others, so theirs is "not" bigotry, but true superiority. They believe they should be able to dominate the culture and the returns on monetary efforts of all "under" them. They believe they are entitled to gain all the wealth they want, with no limits, off the backs of those "below" them. They believe the uneven playing field is correct, good and natural, so that affirmative action threatens their entitlement to ALL the choicest jobs, first and best pick to everything they want over others who are not them or like them.
They believe they are entitled to THE BEST of everything like education, employment, housing, cars, boats, food and clothing, recreation and entertainment, healthcare and profit margins. They believe they should have THE MOST influence over government, freedom from regulation, freedom from prosecution, the most profit and the most power and wealth.
Among the abundances to which they feel entitled are greed, bigotry, xenophobia, lust for power, sophiaphobia (fear of anyone valuing or attaining knowledge), ethnocentrism, racism, classism, homophobia, sexism, ruthlessness, mean-spiritedness, self-centeredness, hatefulness and intolerance.
So, Rove, Kochs, Trump, Murdock and others are now very upset because others might "get some".
Right-wing governors, secretaries of state, national politicians and local ones who lied, cheated, and tried to steal their election, who believed their entitlement to be royalty who can operate outside the truth, any sense of decency or integrity, as long as they can get what they want and keep all the power and wealth, are very angry because "those people" actually rose up and exercised their civil rights and actually participated in democracy. They lost one more step toward their unchallenged oligarchic plutocracy, and they are throwing a tantrum.
What is curious to me is that there are some who have been exploited by them - white, but not male or wealthy or just like those of the majority of power, who DEFEND them and espouse their ideology of how these things should continue, though THEY are being exploited and held down by those "in the club", who will NEVER let them be "in the club", because it would mean less power or wealth, or a lowered sense of superiority for themselves. This fierce loyalty and psychological alignment is maintained because they are duped into believing they either "are in the club" or could be someday, and that "those people" are holding them back from being there, when in truth it is those "above them" who are keeping them down and pitting them against others to keep them there and themselves in power and wealth. They believe that AT LEAST by virtue of their whiteness, straightness or the fact that they were born in this nation, they should have SOME entitlement - scraps from their masters' tables. They resent anyone who might equal their rights, provisions or positions in society. Their frustration, instead of being placed on those "above" them who hold them down, is misplaced on those "beside" or "below" them, as if by scapegoating them, they retain some position over them, or at least the favor of those who are "above" them, as if out of their loyalty they will be lifted up by them instead of held down. Rational people see this. They do not.
Now, both those who are among the entitled and those who aspire to be are throwing a temper tantrum because they did not get their puppet president who would do whatever those who truly are in power and wealth want him to do, those who look just like him.
This time, WE THE PEOPLE spoke. This time we got a taste of LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. This time it was an effort OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE.
It makes me hopeful for our nation. It makes them angry, which speaks volumes.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." "By their fruits you will know them." Jesus
Pastor Jamie
What I saw was the hope of ALL people - a new majority of ALL, and not just those who have had power and wealth. The "us" verses "them" race/class divide has been going on way too long for us to know who started the class divide, though I have my guess. It was certainly around in Jesus' time, as He addressed it time and time again. But sometimes the true majority steps up and speaks loudly.
Straight, White, Wealthy males have a very developed sense of entitlement. They feel entitled to rule over others "beneath" them. They believe they should be entitled to exploit those "beneath" them, both here and abroad. They believe they are entitled to corporate welfare while demanding an end to public assistance to families and while receiving tax exemptions and breaks. They believe they are superior to others, so theirs is "not" bigotry, but true superiority. They believe they should be able to dominate the culture and the returns on monetary efforts of all "under" them. They believe they are entitled to gain all the wealth they want, with no limits, off the backs of those "below" them. They believe the uneven playing field is correct, good and natural, so that affirmative action threatens their entitlement to ALL the choicest jobs, first and best pick to everything they want over others who are not them or like them.
They believe they are entitled to THE BEST of everything like education, employment, housing, cars, boats, food and clothing, recreation and entertainment, healthcare and profit margins. They believe they should have THE MOST influence over government, freedom from regulation, freedom from prosecution, the most profit and the most power and wealth.
Among the abundances to which they feel entitled are greed, bigotry, xenophobia, lust for power, sophiaphobia (fear of anyone valuing or attaining knowledge), ethnocentrism, racism, classism, homophobia, sexism, ruthlessness, mean-spiritedness, self-centeredness, hatefulness and intolerance.
So, Rove, Kochs, Trump, Murdock and others are now very upset because others might "get some".
Right-wing governors, secretaries of state, national politicians and local ones who lied, cheated, and tried to steal their election, who believed their entitlement to be royalty who can operate outside the truth, any sense of decency or integrity, as long as they can get what they want and keep all the power and wealth, are very angry because "those people" actually rose up and exercised their civil rights and actually participated in democracy. They lost one more step toward their unchallenged oligarchic plutocracy, and they are throwing a tantrum.
What is curious to me is that there are some who have been exploited by them - white, but not male or wealthy or just like those of the majority of power, who DEFEND them and espouse their ideology of how these things should continue, though THEY are being exploited and held down by those "in the club", who will NEVER let them be "in the club", because it would mean less power or wealth, or a lowered sense of superiority for themselves. This fierce loyalty and psychological alignment is maintained because they are duped into believing they either "are in the club" or could be someday, and that "those people" are holding them back from being there, when in truth it is those "above them" who are keeping them down and pitting them against others to keep them there and themselves in power and wealth. They believe that AT LEAST by virtue of their whiteness, straightness or the fact that they were born in this nation, they should have SOME entitlement - scraps from their masters' tables. They resent anyone who might equal their rights, provisions or positions in society. Their frustration, instead of being placed on those "above" them who hold them down, is misplaced on those "beside" or "below" them, as if by scapegoating them, they retain some position over them, or at least the favor of those who are "above" them, as if out of their loyalty they will be lifted up by them instead of held down. Rational people see this. They do not.
Now, both those who are among the entitled and those who aspire to be are throwing a temper tantrum because they did not get their puppet president who would do whatever those who truly are in power and wealth want him to do, those who look just like him.
This time, WE THE PEOPLE spoke. This time we got a taste of LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. This time it was an effort OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE.
It makes me hopeful for our nation. It makes them angry, which speaks volumes.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." "By their fruits you will know them." Jesus
Pastor Jamie
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
However this election turns out...
A little more or less than half of the voters in America voted for President Obama...
Some of them voted for him because he is our first black President.
Some of them voted for him because the other candidate did not represent them well.
Some of them voted for him because out of their ignorance or naivete, they believe he can single-
handedly change the wrong directions we have gone in for so long.
Some of them voted for him because they have seen his steady work to dig us out of the economic,
military/foreign affair and domestic/social mess left by the previous administration.
Some of them voted for him because they see his policies, ideologies and actions to be more fair for
the whole nation, because he does not only favor the wealthy and powerful.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about our future as a nation, and they believe
that his integrity as a leader will help us continue to move toward a better place.
Some of us voted for him because we believe he is the lesser of evils and therefore the greater of goods,
though he has not gone far enough to work toward the well-being of the most vulnerable and all
people in the nation in equality and toward equity.
A little more or less than half of the voters in America voted for Governor Romney...
Some of them voted for him because he is not black.
Some of them voted for him because he represents their interests of opulent wealth and unchecked
power, or because they aspire to be the few in the club who have those things.
Some of them voted for him because they were again, out of their ignorance or naivete, duped into
believing he represented what is best for the whole country.
Some of them voted for him because they know his policies, ideologies and actions will benefit them
to have more opulent wealth and exploitative power over others in the nation who will be less
powerful and therefore more exploitable, or they simply aspire to live their values of ruthlessness,
mean-spiritedness, hatefulness, greed, hunger for power over others, intolerance and injustice, all
to get more quick, short term personal gains at the long-term expense of the rest of the nation and
indeed the world.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about their future of the above-mentioned ill-
gotten gains and living the above mentioned values, regard-less of others in the nation.
Some of them voted for him because they believe he is good enough to get them what they want,
even through unscrupulous means in this election, though he is not even what they want in a
President, but at least he is not "the black guy" who would put reasonable regulations on the
acquisition of wealth for the sake of the rest of the nation, because it is all about them getting what
THEY want for THEMSELVES only, and not for the good of the whole nation or the world.
We are truly polarized and yes, clearly I reflect that polarization.
While I am not an "end time" prognosticator, I do believe the best vision of Jesus' return which is
simple, beautiful and hopeful in I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
I also believe that this is perhaps the beginning of THE GREAT SORTING OUT reflected in the
teachings of Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 16:27, 28).
The Wheat and Chaff Matthew 3:11,12/Luke 3:15-17
The Net and Fishes Matthew 13:47-50
The Sheep and Goats Matthew 25:31-46
It will be the gathering of those who lived Kingdom Values as Jesus, Savior and Lord, fulfiller of the
Law and Prophets, gives them to us in His teachings and examples.
We have been instructed by the Law... Deuteronomy 15:7-11, among others...
We have been warned by The Prophets... Amos 5:11, 5:14-15, 5:21-24, among others...
We have been required to live Jesus' Agape Love Commandment... Matthew 7:1, 7:12, 22:34-40,
Luke 10:25-37
We have been warned by Jesus... Matthew 19:16-26, Luke 6:24-26, 12:13-21, 16:19-31, 18:18-30
and Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 6:46-49
We have been taught by Paul... II Corinthians 8:8-24, Philippians 2:1-11
We have been warned by the New Testament Prophet... James 1:22-25, 2:14-26, 4:1-10, 5:1-6
What is our hope? Repentance - changing our thinking, beliefs and directions like
Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10
I am praying for me, because I do reflect the polarization.
I am praying for those like me and those victimized because of the polarization.
I am praying also for those not like me and those who victimize others for their own gain.
I believe in God's Grace and I know my need for it. I believe in our ability to repent (change our
thinking, beliefs and directions) in order to follow what Jesus taught and exemplified as Lord,
because if we do not, we are not following Jesus as Savior.
Please Pray with me for ALL of us and the soul of our whole nation.
Pastor Jamie
Some of them voted for him because he is our first black President.
Some of them voted for him because the other candidate did not represent them well.
Some of them voted for him because out of their ignorance or naivete, they believe he can single-
handedly change the wrong directions we have gone in for so long.
Some of them voted for him because they have seen his steady work to dig us out of the economic,
military/foreign affair and domestic/social mess left by the previous administration.
Some of them voted for him because they see his policies, ideologies and actions to be more fair for
the whole nation, because he does not only favor the wealthy and powerful.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about our future as a nation, and they believe
that his integrity as a leader will help us continue to move toward a better place.
Some of us voted for him because we believe he is the lesser of evils and therefore the greater of goods,
though he has not gone far enough to work toward the well-being of the most vulnerable and all
people in the nation in equality and toward equity.
A little more or less than half of the voters in America voted for Governor Romney...
Some of them voted for him because he is not black.
Some of them voted for him because he represents their interests of opulent wealth and unchecked
power, or because they aspire to be the few in the club who have those things.
Some of them voted for him because they were again, out of their ignorance or naivete, duped into
believing he represented what is best for the whole country.
Some of them voted for him because they know his policies, ideologies and actions will benefit them
to have more opulent wealth and exploitative power over others in the nation who will be less
powerful and therefore more exploitable, or they simply aspire to live their values of ruthlessness,
mean-spiritedness, hatefulness, greed, hunger for power over others, intolerance and injustice, all
to get more quick, short term personal gains at the long-term expense of the rest of the nation and
indeed the world.
Some of them voted for him because they are hopeful about their future of the above-mentioned ill-
gotten gains and living the above mentioned values, regard-less of others in the nation.
Some of them voted for him because they believe he is good enough to get them what they want,
even through unscrupulous means in this election, though he is not even what they want in a
President, but at least he is not "the black guy" who would put reasonable regulations on the
acquisition of wealth for the sake of the rest of the nation, because it is all about them getting what
THEY want for THEMSELVES only, and not for the good of the whole nation or the world.
We are truly polarized and yes, clearly I reflect that polarization.
While I am not an "end time" prognosticator, I do believe the best vision of Jesus' return which is
simple, beautiful and hopeful in I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
I also believe that this is perhaps the beginning of THE GREAT SORTING OUT reflected in the
teachings of Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 16:27, 28).
The Wheat and Chaff Matthew 3:11,12/Luke 3:15-17
The Net and Fishes Matthew 13:47-50
The Sheep and Goats Matthew 25:31-46
It will be the gathering of those who lived Kingdom Values as Jesus, Savior and Lord, fulfiller of the
Law and Prophets, gives them to us in His teachings and examples.
We have been instructed by the Law... Deuteronomy 15:7-11, among others...
We have been warned by The Prophets... Amos 5:11, 5:14-15, 5:21-24, among others...
We have been required to live Jesus' Agape Love Commandment... Matthew 7:1, 7:12, 22:34-40,
Luke 10:25-37
We have been warned by Jesus... Matthew 19:16-26, Luke 6:24-26, 12:13-21, 16:19-31, 18:18-30
and Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 6:46-49
We have been taught by Paul... II Corinthians 8:8-24, Philippians 2:1-11
We have been warned by the New Testament Prophet... James 1:22-25, 2:14-26, 4:1-10, 5:1-6
What is our hope? Repentance - changing our thinking, beliefs and directions like
Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10
I am praying for me, because I do reflect the polarization.
I am praying for those like me and those victimized because of the polarization.
I am praying also for those not like me and those who victimize others for their own gain.
I believe in God's Grace and I know my need for it. I believe in our ability to repent (change our
thinking, beliefs and directions) in order to follow what Jesus taught and exemplified as Lord,
because if we do not, we are not following Jesus as Savior.
Please Pray with me for ALL of us and the soul of our whole nation.
Pastor Jamie
Monday, November 5, 2012
This Election
This election is about the DIRECTION of our country. It will tell A LOT about the character and heart of our nation. It will reveal our soul.
Are we going to continue on a path of more justice for all, equality and equitable treatment for ALL Americans? Are we going to continue to move toward the better treatment of our most vulnerable in healthcare, safeguards and compassion? Are we going to level the playing field in employment, education, healthcare, housing, safety and human rights? Are we going to respect all people and not just those who are most like us? Are we going to responsibly work with integrity among other nations? Are we going to embrace the principles of democracy over our love for laissez faire capitalism?
OR
Are we going to work our way back to "the gilded age", during which wealthy robber barons in our nation could do whatever they wanted at the expense of most in our society, in order to make more quick profit for themselves? Are we going to abandon the most vulnerable and eliminate safeguards so that we can give further tax breaks and "entitlements" to the most wealthy and powerful? Are we going to continue to entitle those who have over those who have not, and put systemic mechanisms in place that widen the gap between the two? Are we going to deepen the polarization in the nation, so that those in power can go unscathed toward more power and wealth, having successfully pitted the rest of us against each other? Are we going to go back to policies and strengthen them that disrespect, exploit, run roughshod and meddle in the affairs of other nations across the world? Are we going to weaken democracy and ultimately replace it completely with an oligarchic plutocracy?
Clearly, we have a choice tomorrow.
Clearly, the choice we make will reveal our heart and soul as a nation.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Jesus
"By their fruits you will know them." - Jesus
I pray that we will re-elect President Obama because I am a FOLLOWER OF THE WAY OF JESUS, and I cannot vote for someone who clearly does not follow Jesus - whether it is a political party, a candidate or an ideology.
JESUS demands that we work toward justice and peace, equity, equality and Agape Love for the most vulnerable. Anyone who votes for an ideology, party or candidate that goes against those things, votes AGAINST JESUS and His teachings and examples.
Vote your conscience - but if you claim to be a "Christian", vote your conscience informed by your faith and understanding of what Jesus taught and exemplified, as we have that in The Gospels...
... because YOUR VOTE reveals YOUR HEART AND SOUL...
Rev. Jamie Kaufman
Are we going to continue on a path of more justice for all, equality and equitable treatment for ALL Americans? Are we going to continue to move toward the better treatment of our most vulnerable in healthcare, safeguards and compassion? Are we going to level the playing field in employment, education, healthcare, housing, safety and human rights? Are we going to respect all people and not just those who are most like us? Are we going to responsibly work with integrity among other nations? Are we going to embrace the principles of democracy over our love for laissez faire capitalism?
OR
Are we going to work our way back to "the gilded age", during which wealthy robber barons in our nation could do whatever they wanted at the expense of most in our society, in order to make more quick profit for themselves? Are we going to abandon the most vulnerable and eliminate safeguards so that we can give further tax breaks and "entitlements" to the most wealthy and powerful? Are we going to continue to entitle those who have over those who have not, and put systemic mechanisms in place that widen the gap between the two? Are we going to deepen the polarization in the nation, so that those in power can go unscathed toward more power and wealth, having successfully pitted the rest of us against each other? Are we going to go back to policies and strengthen them that disrespect, exploit, run roughshod and meddle in the affairs of other nations across the world? Are we going to weaken democracy and ultimately replace it completely with an oligarchic plutocracy?
Clearly, we have a choice tomorrow.
Clearly, the choice we make will reveal our heart and soul as a nation.
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Jesus
"By their fruits you will know them." - Jesus
I pray that we will re-elect President Obama because I am a FOLLOWER OF THE WAY OF JESUS, and I cannot vote for someone who clearly does not follow Jesus - whether it is a political party, a candidate or an ideology.
JESUS demands that we work toward justice and peace, equity, equality and Agape Love for the most vulnerable. Anyone who votes for an ideology, party or candidate that goes against those things, votes AGAINST JESUS and His teachings and examples.
Vote your conscience - but if you claim to be a "Christian", vote your conscience informed by your faith and understanding of what Jesus taught and exemplified, as we have that in The Gospels...
... because YOUR VOTE reveals YOUR HEART AND SOUL...
Rev. Jamie Kaufman
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Budgets are MORAL DOCUMENTS
Those on the political "right" continue to try to gut aid to individual citizens and families who are in need, while continuing to give HUGE "entitlements" to corporations, and allowing the wealthy not to pay their fair share of taxes...
A sampling of the IMMORALITY of this from The Word:
THE LAW:
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Deuteronomy 24:14,15
... among others...
THE PROPHETS:
Amos 2:4-8
5:21-24
6:4-7
8:4-7
James 2:14-17
4:1-10
5:1-6
Ezekiel 34:1-10
... among others...
THE GOSPELS
Mark 12:38-44
Matthew 20:1-16
25:31-46
Luke 6:46-49
9:12-17
12:13-21
16:19-31
... among others...
Compassion for those whom Jesus loves is not a concern for those who are selfishly motivated by greed and have an interest to exploit the poor so they can get more for themselves. Since 1981, that has been the agenda of the political/christian "right", which is WRONG - the "Christians" giving lip service to Jesus while giving their devotion to Mammon, Mars and Bacchus (Mark 7:6-8)... mean-spirited, ruthless, self-centered, greedy, power hungry, exploitative, intolerant, classist, sexist, racist and homophobic are NOT Christian Values, not according to the Gospel of Jesus!
Who you vote for reflects whose way you value as a believer... read the Gospels before the election, concentrating on what Jesus taught and exemplified (especially His imperative statements), and look at what each candidate would do for the most vulnerable and what they would do for the most powerful and wealthy... on whose side is Jesus? It is clear...
Pastor Jamie
A sampling of the IMMORALITY of this from The Word:
THE LAW:
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Deuteronomy 24:14,15
... among others...
THE PROPHETS:
Amos 2:4-8
5:21-24
6:4-7
8:4-7
James 2:14-17
4:1-10
5:1-6
Ezekiel 34:1-10
... among others...
THE GOSPELS
Mark 12:38-44
Matthew 20:1-16
25:31-46
Luke 6:46-49
9:12-17
12:13-21
16:19-31
... among others...
Compassion for those whom Jesus loves is not a concern for those who are selfishly motivated by greed and have an interest to exploit the poor so they can get more for themselves. Since 1981, that has been the agenda of the political/christian "right", which is WRONG - the "Christians" giving lip service to Jesus while giving their devotion to Mammon, Mars and Bacchus (Mark 7:6-8)... mean-spirited, ruthless, self-centered, greedy, power hungry, exploitative, intolerant, classist, sexist, racist and homophobic are NOT Christian Values, not according to the Gospel of Jesus!
Who you vote for reflects whose way you value as a believer... read the Gospels before the election, concentrating on what Jesus taught and exemplified (especially His imperative statements), and look at what each candidate would do for the most vulnerable and what they would do for the most powerful and wealthy... on whose side is Jesus? It is clear...
Pastor Jamie
Monday, October 15, 2012
The Arrogance of Entitlement
It is with a strong sense of privilege, arrogance that anyone would -
Travel to a far away land, plant their own nation's flag on it, exploit and kill the people who were already there when they "discovered" it, and then kidnap people from another part of the world and use them for slave labor for 400+ years... believing that there should be no understanding of how that might affect those who were victims of it for generations or recompense for it...
Squat on lands that belonged to people of another nation for generations, claiming it for their own, and then squabble with them over it and claim to be victims when some of them who refused to leave were killed "defending" a mission, only to steal the land in a bogus treaty... and THEN treat shamefully others from that same nation who generations later come across the border "illegally" to find work so they can support their starving families who live in the nation that originally lost the wide expanse of land and water.
Plant the logos of our nation's corporations in foreign lands and get our government to manipulate international law to allow these corporations to pollute the air, water and land, waste the natural resources and exploit the poorest in their nations for our corporations' profits, giving them tax breaks in the deal and lay off our own nation's workers in the process... and THEN claim that people in foreign nations hate us because they hate "freedom"????
Claim that ANYONE stole their job, just because they are white and/or male and/or straight in America, as if they were ENTITLED to it to begin with.
Claim that they are JOB CREATORS and should not have to pay their fair share of taxes because they are so and might be less likely to employ people if they have to pay their fair share, being the SAME ONES who laid off millions for their own profit while they WERE getting tax breaks!
ANYONE who says, "We're going to take the country back.", while claiming that their statement has nothing to do with race.
Claiming ANYONE is engaging in "Class Warfare" when, for 31 years they have run roughshod over laborers in our nation at will, have kept people out of equal education, healthcare, housing, employment and empowerment and have done all they can to keep from paying their taxes, while millions suffer so they can get more profit for themselves.
Claiming that VOTER SUPPRESSION is to keep "voter fraud" from happening, when they themselves have rigged TWO ELECTIONS and there is such a small number of voter fraud cases cited that there is NO WAY it could EVER justify disenfranchising millions of voters who would most likely vote for the opposing candidate, all while claiming that they value democracy and that it has nothing to do with race or class?????
Leaving alone a political system that is run by corporations through their lobbyists, PACS and Wall Street, designed to keep those already with power and wealth in power and wealth, and keeps any other independent or third-party candidates from public view, cutting programs for the poor and most vulnerable among us while cutting the taxes of the wealthy, while actively working to keep the poor poor by keeping them away from the voting booths.
Leaving alone an economic system that is also run by the same corporate heads who designed the system to get their wealth on the backs of the poor and lower middle class (needing to keep 6% of the population unemployed for the rest of us to prosper), and who believe they should not have to pay taxes or have profit limits, and scream about "welfare" while collecting billions in "entitlements" - CORPORATE WELFARE... screaming "hands off" to government regarding regulation all the while as "free enterprise", while expecting bail-outs if they fail... and wanting to legislate what people do in their bedrooms...
ANYONE who believes that they are truly "self made", or that they could have "made it" with the obstacles and inequities that for generations others have had to overcome just to survive...
Those who stand on their rights to "religious liberty" in this country, while trying to keep anyone who practices another faith from having any expressions of their faith in public... who scream when the government makes it impossible for religious employers to discriminate against citizens regarding healthcare, even over "religious" reasons, while screaming that others might get ANY rights for their faith systems...
Believing that average American citizens should be able to own weapons of mass destruction (that can kill a person a second), while we should do WHATEVER IT TAKES to keep other nations from having nuclear weapon capabilities, while we have as many as we want...
Claiming to be RIGHT TO LIFE while being in favor of THE DEATH PENALTY...
Wanting to sanction other nations for their human rights violations, while we treat resident aliens shamefully, keep our women making 26% less than males in the same jobs, making a minimum wage that is not a living wage, refusing our citizens healthcare, enforcing strict penalties for "urban" drugs while making "suburban" drugs barely a misdemeanor, and KEEPING OUR OWN CITIZENS FROM VOTING... having UNEQUAL education, healthcare, employment, safety, marriage, housing and other basic human needs that should be basic, human rights for any CIVILIZED nation...
It is out of such arrogant beliefs in entitlement and privilege that revolutions are borne... taxation without representation... oligarchic rule... corrupt and greedy economics... inequality, inequity, mean-spirited, ruthless, selfish, greedy, hateful, arrogant claims of entitlement over others... just because... all the while claiming to follow JESUS!!!!????? It is time for HIS revolution to start again... forget "the church", let the MOVEMENT of following Jesus begin anew!
Claiming to love democracy while doing everything one can to thwart the voice of the people.
Claiming that an economic system that has been in place for 31 years and was perfected in the LAST administration to the disastrous end that MOST Americans have experienced, should be put back in place again... so that those already wealthy can make quick profits on our backs again, at OUR peril!
Claiming that Greed and Lust For Power are American virtues... and normative American values... and that anyone who values otherwise is labeled "Un-American", especially those who value TRUE DEMOCRACY and an ECONOMIC SYSTEM with Limits for the sake of ALL, equally, and not just the few, exorbitantly!
Humility is a Kingdom Value. Generosity is a Kingdom Value. Equality and Equity are Kingdom Values. Agape Love is a Commandment. An arrogant sense of entitlement is NOT a Kingdom Value. It is time for American Christians to value humility, generosity, equality and equity in order to be in line with Kingdom Values, at least that is, if you believe JESUS...
The Arrogance of Entitlement... ah, but PRIDE GOES BEFORE THE FALL...
I read that somewhere.
PASTOR JAMIE
Travel to a far away land, plant their own nation's flag on it, exploit and kill the people who were already there when they "discovered" it, and then kidnap people from another part of the world and use them for slave labor for 400+ years... believing that there should be no understanding of how that might affect those who were victims of it for generations or recompense for it...
Squat on lands that belonged to people of another nation for generations, claiming it for their own, and then squabble with them over it and claim to be victims when some of them who refused to leave were killed "defending" a mission, only to steal the land in a bogus treaty... and THEN treat shamefully others from that same nation who generations later come across the border "illegally" to find work so they can support their starving families who live in the nation that originally lost the wide expanse of land and water.
Plant the logos of our nation's corporations in foreign lands and get our government to manipulate international law to allow these corporations to pollute the air, water and land, waste the natural resources and exploit the poorest in their nations for our corporations' profits, giving them tax breaks in the deal and lay off our own nation's workers in the process... and THEN claim that people in foreign nations hate us because they hate "freedom"????
Claim that ANYONE stole their job, just because they are white and/or male and/or straight in America, as if they were ENTITLED to it to begin with.
Claim that they are JOB CREATORS and should not have to pay their fair share of taxes because they are so and might be less likely to employ people if they have to pay their fair share, being the SAME ONES who laid off millions for their own profit while they WERE getting tax breaks!
ANYONE who says, "We're going to take the country back.", while claiming that their statement has nothing to do with race.
Claiming ANYONE is engaging in "Class Warfare" when, for 31 years they have run roughshod over laborers in our nation at will, have kept people out of equal education, healthcare, housing, employment and empowerment and have done all they can to keep from paying their taxes, while millions suffer so they can get more profit for themselves.
Claiming that VOTER SUPPRESSION is to keep "voter fraud" from happening, when they themselves have rigged TWO ELECTIONS and there is such a small number of voter fraud cases cited that there is NO WAY it could EVER justify disenfranchising millions of voters who would most likely vote for the opposing candidate, all while claiming that they value democracy and that it has nothing to do with race or class?????
Leaving alone a political system that is run by corporations through their lobbyists, PACS and Wall Street, designed to keep those already with power and wealth in power and wealth, and keeps any other independent or third-party candidates from public view, cutting programs for the poor and most vulnerable among us while cutting the taxes of the wealthy, while actively working to keep the poor poor by keeping them away from the voting booths.
Leaving alone an economic system that is also run by the same corporate heads who designed the system to get their wealth on the backs of the poor and lower middle class (needing to keep 6% of the population unemployed for the rest of us to prosper), and who believe they should not have to pay taxes or have profit limits, and scream about "welfare" while collecting billions in "entitlements" - CORPORATE WELFARE... screaming "hands off" to government regarding regulation all the while as "free enterprise", while expecting bail-outs if they fail... and wanting to legislate what people do in their bedrooms...
ANYONE who believes that they are truly "self made", or that they could have "made it" with the obstacles and inequities that for generations others have had to overcome just to survive...
Those who stand on their rights to "religious liberty" in this country, while trying to keep anyone who practices another faith from having any expressions of their faith in public... who scream when the government makes it impossible for religious employers to discriminate against citizens regarding healthcare, even over "religious" reasons, while screaming that others might get ANY rights for their faith systems...
Believing that average American citizens should be able to own weapons of mass destruction (that can kill a person a second), while we should do WHATEVER IT TAKES to keep other nations from having nuclear weapon capabilities, while we have as many as we want...
Claiming to be RIGHT TO LIFE while being in favor of THE DEATH PENALTY...
Wanting to sanction other nations for their human rights violations, while we treat resident aliens shamefully, keep our women making 26% less than males in the same jobs, making a minimum wage that is not a living wage, refusing our citizens healthcare, enforcing strict penalties for "urban" drugs while making "suburban" drugs barely a misdemeanor, and KEEPING OUR OWN CITIZENS FROM VOTING... having UNEQUAL education, healthcare, employment, safety, marriage, housing and other basic human needs that should be basic, human rights for any CIVILIZED nation...
It is out of such arrogant beliefs in entitlement and privilege that revolutions are borne... taxation without representation... oligarchic rule... corrupt and greedy economics... inequality, inequity, mean-spirited, ruthless, selfish, greedy, hateful, arrogant claims of entitlement over others... just because... all the while claiming to follow JESUS!!!!????? It is time for HIS revolution to start again... forget "the church", let the MOVEMENT of following Jesus begin anew!
Claiming to love democracy while doing everything one can to thwart the voice of the people.
Claiming that an economic system that has been in place for 31 years and was perfected in the LAST administration to the disastrous end that MOST Americans have experienced, should be put back in place again... so that those already wealthy can make quick profits on our backs again, at OUR peril!
Claiming that Greed and Lust For Power are American virtues... and normative American values... and that anyone who values otherwise is labeled "Un-American", especially those who value TRUE DEMOCRACY and an ECONOMIC SYSTEM with Limits for the sake of ALL, equally, and not just the few, exorbitantly!
Humility is a Kingdom Value. Generosity is a Kingdom Value. Equality and Equity are Kingdom Values. Agape Love is a Commandment. An arrogant sense of entitlement is NOT a Kingdom Value. It is time for American Christians to value humility, generosity, equality and equity in order to be in line with Kingdom Values, at least that is, if you believe JESUS...
The Arrogance of Entitlement... ah, but PRIDE GOES BEFORE THE FALL...
I read that somewhere.
PASTOR JAMIE
Monday, October 1, 2012
The source of unrest
JAMES 4:1-3 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you as wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your own pleasures... 'God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble.'"
We are at unrest in our nation, because we want FOR OUR SELVES what we want and when we want it. Like spoiled children, when we don't get what we want and when we want it, someone else has to pay. We have a strong sense of entitlement to HAVE in abundance, so we EXPLOIT our own people and people across the world to get it.
Rather than ask for those things that do not only feed our own pleasures, we demand what we want and when we want it to please only our selves, and ignore the needs of others whom God loves. We get what we can on the backs of others and at their expense. We set up systems that allow us to do that at will, and wonder why we have such difficult turmoil in our nation and in the world. It is not because God does not answer prayer. It is because we have walked away from any decency, any concern and any consideration of what God wants.
Those with power in business do WHATEVER it takes to keep others with collective power from gaining for their families, all for their own larger profit margins.
Our corporations manipulate the World Trade Organization to make laws that benefit only our companies above whole other nations and their good.
Politicians, in the pockets of corporations, write laws that hurt the powerless and voiceless in favor of those with power and wealth, so that they can further exploit the powerless and voiceless for more profit for themselves.
Individuals keep the corrupt politicians in office because they either benefit from these practices, or hope to be included among the very wealthy someday - for most, neither of which comes to fruition.
Submitting to God and conforming to God's will means working for justice which brings peace. Where there is no justice in the world, there can be no peace. Until we commit to justice for ALL in ALL nations and not just our own, for ALL people and not just some, our nation's well-being will be in jeopardy.
According to James, the New Testament prophet, it is our adultery with God. We run off unfaithfully to please our idols... greed, lust for power, desire for prestige - OUR SELVES. We will not have
well-being in our nation or in the world, until we strive for justice for ALL. THEN there will be PEACE! THEN God will be pleased, and ALL those whom God loves will have enough.
We are at unrest in our nation, because we want FOR OUR SELVES what we want and when we want it. Like spoiled children, when we don't get what we want and when we want it, someone else has to pay. We have a strong sense of entitlement to HAVE in abundance, so we EXPLOIT our own people and people across the world to get it.
Rather than ask for those things that do not only feed our own pleasures, we demand what we want and when we want it to please only our selves, and ignore the needs of others whom God loves. We get what we can on the backs of others and at their expense. We set up systems that allow us to do that at will, and wonder why we have such difficult turmoil in our nation and in the world. It is not because God does not answer prayer. It is because we have walked away from any decency, any concern and any consideration of what God wants.
Those with power in business do WHATEVER it takes to keep others with collective power from gaining for their families, all for their own larger profit margins.
Our corporations manipulate the World Trade Organization to make laws that benefit only our companies above whole other nations and their good.
Politicians, in the pockets of corporations, write laws that hurt the powerless and voiceless in favor of those with power and wealth, so that they can further exploit the powerless and voiceless for more profit for themselves.
Individuals keep the corrupt politicians in office because they either benefit from these practices, or hope to be included among the very wealthy someday - for most, neither of which comes to fruition.
Submitting to God and conforming to God's will means working for justice which brings peace. Where there is no justice in the world, there can be no peace. Until we commit to justice for ALL in ALL nations and not just our own, for ALL people and not just some, our nation's well-being will be in jeopardy.
According to James, the New Testament prophet, it is our adultery with God. We run off unfaithfully to please our idols... greed, lust for power, desire for prestige - OUR SELVES. We will not have
well-being in our nation or in the world, until we strive for justice for ALL. THEN there will be PEACE! THEN God will be pleased, and ALL those whom God loves will have enough.
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