Guest blogged by Frank Schaeffer
Woe to you American Christians! You say I’m the “son of God” and yet you bully the defenseless in my name.
Do you understand the parable of the Good Samaritan?
Let me refresh your memory…
Jesus then replied with a story:
“A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
In case you missed the point of that parable as I’m quoted as telling it in the book of Luke it was that the theologically correct evangelical born-again “saved” passed by on the other side of the road when confronted with a human being in need. It was the “unsaved” theologically incorrect foreigner, today’s equivalent of your atheists or Muslims or gay men and women, the unloved and the outcast, who stopped and did my Father’s will and took care of the injured man.
Put it another way: Did you miss the point when I said that those who come to me saying “Lord, Lord we followed you and believed correctly” are the very ones that I will cast out of the Kingdom of Heaven, since they did not care for the least of these, the downtrodden, the poor and the oppressed?
Did you get it when I said that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the humble, and the outcasts; those who mourn and to the poor in spirit? Gay couples are who are being denied their civil rights are such as these. What are you doing to defend them?
Who do you think will inherit the earth: the wealthy leaders of your giant churches or the downtrodden gays scorned and mocked by society? Who’s side do you think God is on: the bullied and outcast or the powerful religious leaders with their false smiles?
Who will qualify for calling themselves my sons and daughters: The meek who mourn or the proud who say: “Lord, I thank you that I’m not like these gay men and women and these illegal immigrants, and these lazy poor people who deserve no health care and these Muslims?”
You hypocrites! Don’t you get it?
You say you take everything in the Bible seriously and yet you ignore all the many verses about divorce and somehow paper that over because a majority of America buys into divorce now and you don’t want to lose your congregations. And half your pastors and religious leaders are divorced and remarried. But you stick it to gay men and women because they are a minority and easy to pick on! Why wax moralistic about one thing you call sin (though I have no problem with divorce per se) and yet stick it to a minority?
So you quote a few dumb passages about gay love while ignoring all the many more moral teachings you find inconvenient, say about greed and not caring for the poor or fighting unjust wars.
Look, I’m not against picking and choosing Bible verses! It’s called thinking! I never stuck to everything the Bible says myself either.
For instance I broke the biblical law when I said that the people who brought me the adulterous woman should not stone her to death. In other words I said: “forget what the Bible says, only kill her if you’re perfect.” Well, no one was so they quit picking on her and left her alone. Since then I’ve given my followers that as a reason to ignore the dumb harsh parts of the Bible. That is my message: pick the good, leave out the bad. The Bible is just a book, and words are just metaphors so get a life and worship the God of love not some imperfect book!
Did you get it when I said that if you lust in your heart it’s the same as committing adultery? You twisted my words to make it seem as if I’m a moralistic “Church Lady” like you idiots, but I intended the exact opposite!
What I meant was that since everyone lusts; therefore the difference between how we think and feel and temptation and what we do is meaningless in terms of how God sees us. The whole point was that we’re not to judge other people because we ourselves think the same thoughts. So no one is better than anyone else.
You judgmental holy rollers are like banks always making a mistake in their own favor! Why do religious so-called conservative Americans always pick on the little guy, the disenfranchised, blacks, Hispanics, immigrants, pregnant women, gay people? I’ll tell you why!
Because you are bullies!
You are the Pharisees passing by on the other side of the road, those who are so sure you’re saved because of some nonsense that you believe in my name.
Wrong!
You American Christians utterly defaced the name of Christianity with your racism, your slavery and your bigotry against women. And now you’re doing it again in your war against gay men and women and in your war against the poor who have no health care. Some of you even have had it as part of your wicked program to reestablish the Biblical law demanding death to gay people that I clearly showed must be broken by the greater law of love. Well, as you judge so you will be judged. Good luck with that!
Do you think the Kingdom of God is more likely to belong to, a wealthy “Christian” leader who preaches hate and exclusion (even when saying “I love everyone and only hate the sin”) or to the least of these, the disenfranchised who want nothing more than to enjoy the same rights of other citizens? Do you think God does not see that the poor have no care and die because your greedy (lying) insurance lobby has your so called Congress in their pockets?
You hypocrites and liars! You say you’re preaching my gospel when my gospel never was about correct belief or correct behavior. My gospel was about not judging others, making room for everyone at the table, loving your neighbor as you love yourself. If gay men and women are your enemy then, as you know, I commanded you to love them! And if they are asking to be allowed to marry I commanded you to give to him who asks of you! Besides, you don’t own America. This is a democracy and yours is just one opinion.
How did it come to this?
How do those who claim that they serve and represent me misuse the Bible to the extent that they make bumper stickers and coffee mugs calling for the death of the President by misquoting Psalm 109.8? (By the way, in case you want to know, he’s doing his best to follow the law of love right now, even though it’s almost impossible to do that because the fool who ruled before him — talk about a burning Bush! — left the biggest mess since the fall of Jerusalem in the year AD 70!)
Do you think I am on the side of a those who want to make the First Lady of the United States (who happens to be a favorite daughter of mine!) a widow and the daughters of the President (very lovely children!) orphans as this Psalm is misconstrued to “call” for?
There is no Hell or Heaven other than that we create for ourselves here on this earth and in the next life. But I’m tempted to ask God to create a real hell for you damnable hate mongers!
You are like the Pharisees I used to know and who strained out the least gnat of others’ so-called misbehavior while turning a blind eye to their own wickedness, hypocrisy and lies. Remember my sayings about taking the beam out of your own eye before removing the speck from your brother’s?
Quit worrying about gay people and start to worry about your so-called churches, those ash heaps of stinking bigotry and hate. The way you hate your first black president is all I need to know about you. So stop worrying about other people’s “sins” and start worrying about all the lies you are telling your children in my name!
And all your talk about patriotism will do you no good unless you love every American as you love yourself — including gay Americans, poor people the disenfranchised and yes, women who have abortions and the illegal immigrants.
They ask mercy of you! Give to them! Or did you miss that part of my teaching too?
Do you really think I’m on the side of those who hate the “other”?
You are killing me again!
The point is to have a chance to sanctify love in every generation.
If I walked here on Earth again with you, you’d kill me again, just as you are going to kill all that is good in my name, just as some of you are praying for the death of your president who you even call “Anti-Christ.”
Let me tell you who is Anti-Christ: Christian “saved” America. Depart from me!
Please come up with a new name for whatever you are. Drop the word “Christ” out of your name. You’ve destroyed my reputation.
Frank Schaeffer is the author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back
His previous articles at The BRAD BLOG can be read here…
Great letter..but in my opinion Frank is too quick to give Obama a pass….and I say this as a person who voted for the man..though not my first choice (Kucinich).
See: Dear Barack, Spare Me Your E-Mails, today at Truthdig.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/dear_barack_spare_me_your_emails_20091208/
Bravo, Frank. If you get even one of those bullies to listen, it’s all worth while.
Frank – Loved the imaginary letter from Jesus. My son is gay and a follower of Jesus Christ and I am a follower of Jesus Christ and don’t find any scriptural evidence to condemn loving, monogamous same sex relationships. I sometimes think “I could be wrong – who knows for sure” – but even if I am wrong who is God going to condemn?(if he does that sort of thing is questionable imo) … my son who is in a good, loving, monogamous relationship and not oppressing or hating on people – or religious people who are spending their time and effort trying to keep gay people from being able to marry and trying to convince them that they are shameful and rejected by God??? It’s a no brainer for me.
Frank you’re getting yourself tangled in the messages of the new testament if you think you can use selective passages and say the rest not relevant as evidenced by your “pick the good, leave out the bad”.
You should have just stuck with where Jesus says “you should love God with all your heart” and you should love your neighbor as yourself” and that story. That’s all you really needed.
“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.†Ghandi
Thanks Frank – I always think how infrequently Good Samaritan story is though about in Christian circles, and really how profound it is. The story is literally Christ’s answer to “who is my neigbor”, I take it to mean: who ever crosses you path, regardless of cultural differences, is your neighbor, and you should love and care for them as much as you do yourself, that is the essence of being a Christian
People forget/ignore that when Jesus railed against the pharisees and sadduces and told the good samaritan parable, and the sheep and the goats story, he was railing against the holy-than-thou, intolerant, uncompassionate, literal readers of religious law of his day, those who did not live by the spirit of the law, which Jesus defined as compassion and understanding.
I was thinking you sounded a tad angry for being Jesus, but then I remembered Jesus did get pretty righteously angry about people who were leading people astray spiritual, I suspect some one seeing Jesus throwing tables over at the temple would even say he was in a rage, not selfish anger over his needs, but in rage over the mistreatment and misleading of his flock.
Thanks, great post.
@Konstantin – If you read new testament portion about Jesus’ life and his words, there is no way to avoid how much and how often he is making the same points as Frank does above, for the characters of his time. Yes Frank is picking certain verses, but he is picking the ones others do not pic, ignore, so the are forgotten, not emphasize, but not in the Gospels…Jesus is constantly railing on literalist puffed up righteous ones of his day, talking about how his Father will throw people in hell for doing religious duties but not caring for orphans, widows, hungry, those in jail, etc…Frank’s specific examples in modern times are needed to make these points more obvious Pharisee, Sadducees=religious right of our day, poor people, gay people, muslims= widows, adulterous woman, samaritans, of his day. People completely miss the main emphasis of Christ teachings, one must pull out specific verses that are overlooked and give modern examples. Why to Christ talk in parables and analogies? it helped people understand.
Excellent Letter!!
Awesome…
Mr. Schaeffer you’ve gotten to the heart of the matter…
The underclass, those “others.” Great for the corporate capitalist so-called “Christian” America.
Although I am not religious in any formal sense, I always did like Jesus, and for a long time now I have been angry at those who would promote hatred in Jesus’ name.
Sheesh! If there were leaders like Frank in the Churches I went to, I may not have stopped going! Inspirational, Frank!
Sing it, Frank!
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Republican%20jesus&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
Frank, you who assume to speak as the oracle of God…be careful. Who commissioned you or who gave you the authority? This position is given of God, to those who have obtained to a level of spiritual maturity such that they can be trusted with that position. You are not there and you are in danger of judgement. Again, be very careful and consider yourself duly warned. If you persist, your blood is on your own hands.
Jesus didn’t violate the law (old testament ordinances), He fulfilled it. (Romans 13:10) Although, homosexuality is wrong (Romans 1:26 & 27,1 Corinthians 6:9), we are to love the homosexual as we do all men and women. (again Romans 13:10)
Big Dan, just take a moment to look around. There are many American Churches that speak the true word of Christ. It is why this article is mistitled. While I agree there are those groups like the Fred Phelps gang that totally miss the point there are many Christians out their doing Christ work here on earth.
In my city alone there are more Christian organizations than I can count that are out there feeding the homeless, providing for the everyday needs of the downtroddin. Simply because it is the right thing to do. You do not “have to” accept Christ to receive help, just simply show up.
leviticus 20:13 for liz above who thinks her son (gay) is a good christian even though he’s openly gay. i hope this helps. there’s still time.
I agree with Ken above. Frank is not God or a prophet and should not continue to speak for God. There are multiple fallacies in his letter. Nowhere does he back up what he says with scripture (hint hint). I pray you people have sense enough to read God’s word for yourself and not take a man’s word for what He says. Poor Frank is a liberal who misquotes the bible to make his opinions appeal to people who want to live their own life like “they” want…not how God commands. We “all” fall short of the glory of God. So beg for forgiveness from Jesus Christ as He is the only way to salvation. We all need saving. Don’t get caught up in liberal or conservative politicians beliefs to save you….as Frank bashes Bush and praises Obama…both of which are just men and both sin. Read what the bible says on wars( (1 Samuel 15:3; Joshua 4:13)., homosexuality (levitcus 20:13), abortion(jeremiah 1:5) etc. If you have any questions what to do in life don’t believe the commone man….read God’s word. We’re all responsible for ourselves to know what is right and wrong according to the bible. Frank I leave you with this passage as your letter fits this to a “T”. Proverbs 6:16-19 You’re walking on thin ice it appears.
American anti-gay activists and Republicans behind legislation in Uganda to execute gays:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/34354722#34354722
Any wingnuts wanna justify this???????????????????
Uganda is currently considering an incredibly brutal anti-gay law. Apparently it’s not good enough to make homosexuality illegal and put people in prison for it for life, now they may go even further and put gays to death – along with anyone who advocates on their behalf. And now — surprise, surprise — it turns out that the people behind this in that country are members of The Family.
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/11/the_familys_ties_to_ugandas_an.php
http://rawstory.com/2009/11/author-the-family-proposed-ugandan-law-execute-hiv-men/
Republican Jesus says: “Kill the gays”
Are churches offering free health care for those who don’t have it? I always wonder that.
Amen.
big dan i think you’re old enough to get a job with insurance. if not your mother should have you covered. half the people out there in need of insurance either don’t want it because their job pays more to decline it or they just don’t want to get a job. i agree some people aren’t offerend insurance and these people should think about purchasing their own. i know if i didn’t have insurance i’d purchase it…if not for me then for my family. insurance isn’t a right it’s a benefit. next you’ll be saying we should pay for everyone’s car insurance flood insurance etc. i buy mine and the uninsured should buy theirs. basically these knuckleheads want this bill passed so we can pay for everyone’s abortion….otherwise they’d omit that from the bill.
When a servant of Satan like Frank Schaeffer attempts to speak on behalf of Almighty God, the first and only thing to do is to ignore it for the blasphemy it is.
To some degree i agree David. But if we ignored everyone who thought like this guy we’d be going to Heaven without alot of people who still have time to change their hearts. There’s no doubt in my mind that these people know right from wrong. They just find it’s alot easier to go down the path of Satan then follow the Lord. And I agree it is. One day in the near future they won’t have to worry about that choice and it’ll be too late. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t stumble. But the good news is we’ve already been forgiven. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and turn away from that sin. Too many people looking out for number one and it’s terrible. A guy with what he believes in and he wants to tell everyone what Jesus would do. Poor Schaeffer. I’ll be praying for you and people like you who think it’s ok to live “my” life with no regards for living biblically. The great day of the Lord is closer than the experts believe 🙂 I beg that everyone who doesn’t know the Lord get on their knees tonight and ask for forgiveness. Then start reading new testament. Reading John got me started. Once you believe in the Lord it’ll break your heart knowing we’re all guilty of His murder. Good thing about the Jesus is he’s there for you anytime you need him. If you fully repent and mean it I promise you’ll be blessed beyond imagination. He’s the man.
There is not much hope for America, as long as lots of people there are brainwashed to think like Michael #24.
LOL yeah River one day really soon you’ll think of me and what I’ve been trying to get through your thick skull. I’m sorry for you that you feel that way. What’s more interesting is you’ll read a so called letter that Schaeffer wrote from Jesus but you won’t believe in Him? Sounds a little backwards. I give you this…at least you’re trying to ready words about Jesus. You’re just reading them from a guy who doesn’t know Him. More facts about the bible have been proven to have come true than any other book written and people still turn their backs. Statistically speaking, the bible has so many prophecies proven true It’s impossible for the bible to be anything but truth. I’ll keep you in my thoughts. Nice site if you’re interested. http://www.clarifyingchristianity.com/science.shtml
To Ken, Michael and David @ various comments…
To quote Frank Schaeffer…
And now I see Konstantine (@#4) is a divinity major too…
I agree with all those above who say we should be living in a Biblical manner, and who condemn “cafeteria Christians” who want to pick-and-chose what verses they like out of the holy scripture. Let’s start by stoning to death all of those truly-damned adulterers, and let’s make a great example to the wider population by starting with the so-called political elite. Who’s up first? Newt Gingrich? Mark Sanford? John Ensign? David Vitter? Paul Stanley? Michael Duvall? C’mon, which of you Pharisees are with me?
To all the self-righteous bigots and haters posting in here (eg Michael) – don’t you get it? Your bigotry will never get you into heaven, no matter how self-righteous you believe yourself to be. You’re just another hatemonger defiling the name of Jesus.
Ken @29
Are you the same Ken that wrote this to Frank @13 ?
If so…then please see comment #27..it surely applies.
Sounds like another “Blame the Christians and the Jews.” “Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Should Christians just shut up? When Homosexual pastors lead their congregations to hell, should the Christians who know the truth shut up? Doesn’t sound like walking in love to me, holding back the truth. When children grow up in an environment with a twisted concept of “male and male” parents, should the Christians shut up? And when the school systems try to indoctrinate our children with the lies that these practices are healthy, should Christians run away and hide? When the truth is hidden, the people become oppressed. The truth shall make you free.
Andrew @31
You mean like Christians and Jews blame gays, liberals and anyone who may speak up for those groups ?
I think Frank was asking Christians to stand up; to stand up for the love and forgiveness that Chris actually taught.
Huh ? what ?
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices, mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Make if this what you will…
@ COMMENT #26 [Permalink]
… michael said on 12/10/2009 @ 7:48 pm PT..
“Statistically speaking, the bible has so many prophecies proven true It’s impossible for the bible to be anything but truth.”
Now, I realize that you are refering to prophecy, but you offer us a website wherein the first words are as follows:
“The Bible is not a science book, yet it is scientifically accurate. We are not aware of any scientific evidence that contradicts the Bible.”
I humbly submit to you the following questions:
1) what is the value of pi?
2) what is the Biblical valueof pi? (Hint 1 Kings 7:23 and 2 Chronicles 4:2)
3) how do you reconcile the difference between the answers to 1 (3.14…) and 2 (3.00) above and still maintain that “It’s impossible for the bible to be anything but truth”?
To Mr. Schaeffer:
You are not Jesus. You can’t speak for Jesus any more than I can, or any conservative, or any liberal. You are as guilty of intolerance as the people you criticize.
So many words and so little logic.
But the Pastors in your megachurches who teach intolerance can?
What about the writers of the Bible? Where they also blasphemous? How did they get the permission to “speak for Jesus?”
Wasn’t Jesus a Liberal?
Interesting that…how can anyone know what is in another’s heart? Not to mention that my understanding of Frank Schaeffer was that he has been studying scripture and Christ his entire life…but, apparently if his truth does not equal your truth it is not the real truth.
Which God’s words should I read? The ones that the Council of Nicaea decided that they would include in the Bible or the ones that they decided not to include?
Men wrote the words in the Bible, men from the Council of Nicaea decided which of those words that they would include and you are all instructing me not to trust the word of man but to instead only trust the word of God.
God is a Concept by which
we measure our pain – John Lennon
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They shall have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” — Matthew 6:5-6Â
Â
THE BIBLE SAYS: PRAYER BELONGS IN THE CLOSET, NOT GAYS
Get thee behind me, hypocrites!
To “here’s a clue” comment 26 http://www.direct.ca/trinity/pi.html see if this link helps you out with your math. I’m sure with all your great wisdom you’d know the answer to pi before God would? You’re talking a difference of .00026% difference in that verse of scripture and pi. It’s easy for people to step back and pick out a verse here and verse there and attempt to tear it apart to try and ridicule God’s word. I’d like to know from this person if he knows of a prophecy written in the bible that’s ever been proven wrong. Just pick one. I mean there are hundreds to chose from and I’m asking for one verse you can prove wrong. And to Nathanial on comment 37. Leviticus 20:13 is all you need to know about homosexuality. And their is a huge difference between witnessing to people in public and praying in public. I’m sure you’d know this or are you just tossing a few jabs in at the Christians who actually care whether or not people go to hell? This letter written is based on half fact taken out of context and the writer knows this. That’s what makes it really detestable. Apparently the writer knows a little something about God’s word but refuses to take the whole verse into meaning because it condemns his beliefs. The bible in plain words condemns homosexuality…no ifs, ands or buts. We should all be striving to live a better life and hold ourselves to a higher standard for what was given to us. It’s not my job to condemn anyone. I’m a sinner as everyone posting on this site is. The difference is that I know I fall short of the glory of God and have asked for forgiveness for all of my sins. It’s an everyday process…just as it is for a junkie or an alocoholic, it is for a sinner who’s trying to live according to God’s will not ours. Every day holds challenges once you’ve accepted His gift.
To Anjha comment 36. First of all don’t get caught up believing every preacher you hear. He’s only a man. If you put faith in a man to save you then you’re alot worse off then you know. Men will fail you every time whereas God will not. What I’m saying to you is that you should know enough of the bible to figure out if a preacher is speaking clearly from the word of God. Also, writers of the bible were given visions from God as to what should be included in the bible. Understand something. What is in the bible today is there because God wanted it that way…no matter who typed it up, wrote it down etc….it’s ultimately God’s decision. He uses man every day to get His work done. He doesn’t need us to do His work to get it done, but we do it willingly because the sacrifice He’s made for everyone of us whether we accept His gift or not He’s still your God. Also noone knows what’s in Schaeffer’s heart…only God knows. But understand what precedeth from the mouth comes from the heart first (matthew 15:17-20). Basically, he’s laying his cards out on the table when he writes what he’s writing. He could be on his knees as I type this asking the Lord into his heart and he’s forgiven and will enter into heaven on that Great Day! It’s as simple or as hard as you want it to be. Understand this, the first time Jesus came it was as a Lamb to be sacrificed for our sins. The next time He returns it will be as Conquerer and Judge. It’s too late then. The curtain hasn’t closed on this one yet. I hope this helps. God Bless you.
Michael —
No, that’s NOT all I need to know about homosexuality. I needed to know a lot *more*, so I dropped the bronze-age mythology and came to terms with who I really AM — an out, proud gay man — and I am a lot happier and content than when I was letting sanctimonious busy-bodies bully me around.
And, as you may know, the bible also condemns usury, so why aren’t all the busybodies lining up to spread calumny about all the major banks? And you *know* about that “bearing false witness” injunction, which a lot of the gawd-botherers — from Tony Perkins to Maggie Gallagher to Fred Phelps to Joey the Rat in his obscene gilded palace — transgress on a virtual daily basis, what with all the shocking lies that they tell about us harmless and innocent gay men and women.
In short, instead of being so fixated on being “born again”, why doesn’t your crew just concentrate on GROWING UP?
Michael @38….
You keep saying how the bible is infallible…does that infalliblity have a margin of error ? A margin of error that you gave it for the number of pi ?
Would you agree that maybe that same margin of error be granted to us imperfect humans in our dealings with each other ?
You’ll tolerate the bible being clearly wrong about the simple number of pi. But you’ll hold an imperfect human to the letter of the law…a law mind you that Jesus fulfilled and replaced with mercy and grace.
Michael I don’t think you’ve used the words love, forgiveness, grace or mercy in any of your comments here…
but you claim to speak for god.
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” he replied, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ – this is the great and foremost commandment, and there is a second like it, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. The whole Law and Prophets hang on these two commands.” (Mtt 22:37-40, Mrk 12:28-34).
COMMENT #22 [Permalink]
… michael said on 12/10/2009 @ 10:58 am PT…
big dan i think you’re old enough to get a job with insurance. if not your mother should have you covered. half the people out there in need of insurance either don’t want it because their job pays more to decline it or they just don’t want to get a job. i agree some people aren’t offerend insurance and these people should think about purchasing their own. i know if i didn’t have insurance i’d purchase it…if not for me then for my family. insurance isn’t a right it’s a benefit. next you’ll be saying we should pay for everyone’s car insurance flood insurance etc. i buy mine and the uninsured should buy theirs. basically these knuckleheads want this bill passed so we can pay for everyone’s abortion….otherwise they’d omit that from the bill.
Drive by ignorance. Typical ignorant conservative who only thinks of himself and thinks he knows everything.
Your ignorance is really showing with the statement that you think half the people out there aren’t insured because they don’t want it. Who wouldn’t want insurance? That’s asinine to say people don’t want insurance, that doesn’t make any sense.
People like you see the light when they lose their insurance. You are the “I got mine, screw you” mentality. The “I don’t want everyone covered because then mine will go up” mentality. The selfish mentality of conservatives. You will see the light soon, because insurance is tied to your job, and jobs are getting scarce. Wait until you lose your insurance, or someone in your family does. Will you laugh at them? Or one of your friends. Wait until one of your relatives or friends dies due to lack of health insurance.
It’s a right, not a privilege. Maybe not to you and your “I got mine” conservatism.
The mentality of Michael fits in well with Frank’s letter from Jesus. Thank you Michael, for being an example of just what Frank is talking about.
Conservatives like Michael have put a value on an American’s life: it’s $100.
If Michael was told his insurance would go up from $400 to $500 in order to cover all uninsured Americans and save thousands of lives, Michael would say “no”.
Thank you Frank. I think Jesus would approve of this piece.
As for the trolls here, may you and the other commenters have a very Merry Christmas and a much better New Year. Pray for Peace and for bringing the troops home. Those poor souls need all the prayers they can get. Let’s all work to end these unjust wars, afterall that’s what Jesus would want.
Tell Congress NO!
http://rethinkafghanistan.com/
Vote NO on any spending bill that would send more troops to Afghanistan.
A little pedantic, but right on. There are any number of amazing things about this blog. For starters, it flies right over the heads of most convervative Christians that they are the embodiment of biblical Pharisees; just we liberal mainline Christians such as myself don’t seem to grasp that we are the Sadduccees of this day. What is most astounding is to think of who Frank Schaeffer’s father was–and to see how Frank has not abandoned Christianity altogether. Would it were possible for us to fast forward 100 years and see what religion scholars make of the dicotomy between Francis and Frank Schaeffer, which of them will be the enduring spiritual voice and what our response to either of them will say about us.
An Alternative to Capitalism (which will end poverty)
The following link, takes you to a “utopian” article, entitled “Home of the Brave?” which I wrote and appeared in the Athenaeum Library of Philosophy:
http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/steinsvold.htm
John Steinsvold
Dearest Jesus,
I appreciate your comments regarding Christians and their hypocritical stance re: gays. However I was hoping you would also address the “Christian” inclination towards war, and their indifference to suffering, torture and false imprisonment of others. Why aren’t these Christians against war? Why not “Peace on Earth”?
Everyone but Frank is commenting in this blog. I’m interested in hearing what Frank has to say about all the comments he’s generated.
There is NO reasoning with ‘Christians’ these days. Not sure if there ever was.
But one thing IS clear about those who call themselves Christians in America…
Until they do right by humanity, God has most certainly forsaken them.
One only needs to look at them and their intentions to know this.
Christianity in America and many other parts of the world has become a symbol of hatred, bigotry and oppression.
And apparently Christ’s followers wouldn’t have it any other way.
Dearest Michael,
You said:
Men will fail you every time whereas God will not.
You also said:
Understand something. What is in the bible today is there because God wanted it that way…no matter who typed it up, wrote it down etc….it’s ultimately God’s decision. He uses man every day to get His work done.
This strikes me as a wee bit fickle. Is the fact that the Council of Nicaea were somehow more led by God (and therefore conveniently relevant to your point) because it happened so long ago? Are we more fallible now in our interpretation than 2000 years ago? (Apart from the fact that the council cherry picked so all we have to go on now is what they have told us we can have.)
This sentiment also strikes me as naive, contadicted, but also quite dangrous to live by.
So you’re saying God wills everything? Or just that “True Christians” such as yourself are solely led by the big G?
Was 9/11 an act of God? Or was that the American Government cashing in on fear, whilst fuelling the hatred of “that which is other” in the horrified American people? (Actually that’s unfair, it horrified, not to mention sucessfully terrified the whole world.)
I’m sure God wouldn’t want you to feel guilty all the time for sinning. Depends what you count as sins I suppose. …Eating a Big Mac? Does that count? Or stuff like thinking “She looks fat in that, and then lying to make her feel better?” Or the classic “I totally just killed 20 people with this machine gun…”
“Man will fail every time”, huh? Tad harsh there. Are you yourself not a man?
I know nobody is perfect, but isn’t the point of being human to make mistakes and then rectify them? You do that for yourself. Then if you’re desperate you can ask God to handle stuff for you if you can’t deal with it. But you do that with your parents when you are little. God as father. Powerful. Dangerous. God usually doesn’t smack your wrist in this life, and well, I haven’t actually met anyone who has been to a hell they haven’t made for themselves here… so. Let your conscience be your guide darling.
I wish upon you what you wish upon yourself.
xxx Ryn
Michael said “To some degree i agree David. But if we ignored everyone who thought like this guy we’d be going to Heaven without alot of people who still have time to change their hearts.”
I agree that while there is life there is still time, and I pray they’ll learn the truth before it’s too late. But there comes a time when one must stop casting their pearls before swine and move on to those whose hearts and minds are not filled with hatred towards God and His Word. The modern-day liberal hates God and His laws and harbours hatred towards those who are his true followers, as is evident from several of the posts on this thread. May the Lord reward them according to their works.
David Lipscomb write:
How unbelievably insulting, obnoxious and inaccurate. If that’s what you believe, David, you are truly a lost and/or confused and/or forever poisoned soul. What a pity.
Brad Friedman ~ you forgot to mention David Lipscomb completely lumping every liberal into the same category that he has imagined for himself. And ignoring the fact that whilst blinded by his own sense of righteousness he has forgotten how to love anyone other than his particular brand of God Squad and the image of their snowy bearded white father figure mascot.
But I forgive Mr. Lipscomb because his name makes me think of someone with a truly epic moustache. For that reason alone, David has made me smile. And hey, David, look on the bright side… I don’t want to hang around with you scary guys when I die. Frankly, it sounds like my idea of hell! So I’ll just go elsewhere. Or maybe just reincarnate. Ciao! xxx
Dear Mr. Schaeffer,
Your interpretation of Christ’s parable is primarily based on who our “neighbors” are here in the U.S.A. Wouldn’t Christ do more to expand our horizons to the entire planet? Your failure to do so might be interpreted as hypocritical since all of us here, including you, have more-than-enough when most of our neighbors on this planet do not have enough.
I suggest to you, Mr. Schaeffer, that you are too focused on the depravity of the Republican party and its religious right. Democrats also have a plank in their own eye because they, too, believe they deserve more-than-enough at the expense of their neighbors on this planet who do not have enough.
At the Last Judgment, Christ will ask about six behaviors (not beliefs or doctrines):
1. Did you feed the hungry (or did you overfeed yourself at the expense of “the least of these”)?
2. Did you provide clean drinking water to the thirsty (or did you pollute what God created so that “the least of these” were not able to enjoy God’s gift to everyone)?
3. Were you hospitable to strangers in need of shelter (or did you put up fences on your borders to keep out “the least of these” from foreign countries)?
4. Did you provide clothes to those in rags (or did you get excited about how cheaply you paid “the least of these” in Third World countries to make your clothes)?
5. Did you provide health care to the sick on this planet who have no one to care for them (or did you invest all your resources into the latest medical technology for yourselves when “the least of these” are still dying from common, curable diseases)?
6. Did you visit those in prison and fight for their justice (or did you think that when “the least of these” break the laws of a country it means that they are cut off from God’s transforming love)?
Thank you for listening,
Stephen