Friday 23 November 2018

Is Driving A "Sin" [love that word]?


If God made the world and said it was good, how can people destroy it - without even a thought about it?! If people say the bible is sacred and must be obeyed...then Hear Ye::

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Gen. 2

How many today view their goal in life to care for the land?
"I don't have time"
"I want to fly to Maui to swim with the dolphins"
"I have to drive my kids to..."

The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants...you must provide for the redemption of the land...Lev. 25

If we really under-stand who owns the land - NOT us - then we must live responsibly. Not only is private property condemned, but we must care and provide for the land. Today, most just take take take from the land for selfish reasons. Where does the pollution go? Where does your poop go? What toxins are put on food and poison the land, water, air, workers, .... ?

I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you - the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals...every living creation on earth...Never again will life be cut off by the waters of a flood...I will set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Gen. 9

The stress is on all of Creation - NOT just humans! Yet, foolish "christians" say God will destroy the world, blah blah blah...doctrine shoved gleefully down their throats by pastors about the "end times". Very odd: discard the Jewish Scriptures for junk.
Discard Creation..
Discard the poor...
Discard love...

Cars/driving them epitomizes the idea that we can do what we want without regard for Creation [which includes humans]. 2000000 dead in Iraq for oil. Blood on your hands if you drive, fly, use any fossil fuels [in pesticides etc.].....
The pollution/carbon to make cars [electric cars etc. are not the answer: 50% in the MAKING of cars]
Roads wipe out forests
#1 killer of kids
Traffic causes incredible stress
Traffic destroys community
What about the smog...pollution by driving itself?
Where will the list end [very few mentioned here]?

It ends when you make a choice between love for ALL Creation and your-self.
The choice is to obey God or your selfish desires.
God/the gospel demand self-sacrifice.

"...the deceitfulness of wealth and desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." - Jesus [Mark 4].

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." - Jesus [Mark 8].

So let's get in the car and drive to church/temple/mosque/synagogue... to "worship" the Creator! Amen.

Saturday 29 September 2018

Are Authorities Ordained By God?



Step back. Who tells us this? Who benefits? Why are they telling us? Did they ask the oppressed and workers what they think?

Authority has been telling us this for-ever: going back to Caesar, and earlier. He, whom considered himself to be God and to be obeyed. Religious, political, military, police leaders have continued this en-force-ment for-ever!

Today, some like Jeff Sessions say the same: we should obey the government's terrible treat-ment of immigrants, or whatever they say/do. Of course, such rhetoric is especially alive during war times. "National security" trumps all.

The most cited verses found in Romans 13. Apartheid, slavery, and much of history reveal how these verses were used to subjugate the masses. Sure, it says that authority is ordained by God. So what? Why do we feel compelled to obey some text? It goes on to say that authority rewards those who do good and punishes those who do evil. Really? Unfortunately we oft turn off reason when told this and other such foolish things. Go to the prisons. Who is there? The rich? The polluters? The war mongers? The bankers that caused the 2008 collapse? No! It's the poor, the blacks, ... those who can't afford expensive lawyers. So where is God? Where is the truth of this verse? It's not true. It's propaganda to control people!

But we stop. We submit. We fail. We reject reason, truth and justice.

Ask any reformed evangelical/fundamentalist [not just religious!]. One verse strangles. The authorities in the churches, mosques, religious groups, political groups, etc. pressure the individual and mass. It's hard to believe that  one verse can bury the mind and reason. But it has/does! When those around us convince us to submit, we too often fail and obey them. But they get us when we are young, or desperate, or lonely.

Of course, no one tells us that the writer, Paul, was jailed and fought the authorities for over 3 years! Numerous Christians fought against obedience.. And remember the ones fed to the lions. Did they believe Caesar was god? No! Ok...time for dinner!

Any sense of logic leads us to the strange point then that Hitler, Stalin, Pinochet, etc. were all ordained by God. All are. So which do we obey? I'm confused. Please help me. Where is Jeff when I need him?

Of course no one talks about Christ. He disobeyed  religious/political authority....I wonder if that is why the authorities murdered him for treason.  Read again, the authorities killed the Christ: not the poor, the workers, the immigrants...He constantly and consistently opposed authority! He took the side of the 'scum': the women, the poor, the prostitutes, the outcasts, .... all those who were oppressed by these wonderful authorities!

We need to challenge authority. We need to all be one. The rich and ruling class must become workers like us. We do not need authority figures. They need us. [oh oh commi scare!] ... Remember what Jesus said [Mark 10:42-45 NIV]:

You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles
 lord it over them, 
and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you 
must become your servant,
and whoever wants to be the first
must be the slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.

This demands a total reversal of the hierarchical model thrust upon us.  Let us love: serve others [and ALL creation]: not oppress nor support anyone or any system that does so.

We are told to follow, like little children, singing "Jesus loves me, yes I know, for the bible tell me so...." Sing with me, Mr. Sessions....You can hear him sing: "Obey me, for the bible tells you so".....amen.

Wednesday 4 July 2018

The Gospel Is Not Good For The Rich! Huh?!!!



The gospel has been re-duced to a few sentences....a few "key" phrases/ideas. Is that acceptable? What really motivates such a reductionist approach to the life of Jesus? Do people even read the whole gospel? Who decided what is acceptable in the "message"?

We are told "gospel" means good news. But is it really good news to all? To the rich, Jesus said they cannot enter the kingdom of God...And the Jews knew that a camel cannot - ever - go through the eye of a needle!  But the poor peasant disciples were relieved that even they can "for all things are possible with God". What a reversal of what they were taught and what society enforced.

We have the "gospels" of Mark, Luke, Matthew and John. Mark is the earliest - about 45-55 AD. A long time after Christ was here! Matthew and Luke took much from the source "Q". Hence the commonalities. Yet there is quite a difference in all four - making one question the reliability. They started off orally before being written down - and the goal was not to be word for word true as we expect from published reports today [or do we? #fakenews]. They had a message that the authors wanted to communicate.

One must wonder how "Christians" reduce entire books down to: we have sinned, Jesus died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin, accept him into your heart [sic] and you go to heaven"...."Sounds a little fishy", says the fisher men who followed Christ.

So what got excluded from this bastardization of the historical Jesus? Well...let's start with predictions about him in Luke 1. He was to bring down authority, feed the poor and reject/condemn the rich. And that's just chapter one. Later he condemns retaliation, wealth, racism, sexism, the Jewish/state authorities.... We see him accepting those detestable creatures called gentiles....oh, and let's not forget other "scum" like women and prostitutes. He even said the kingdom of God belongs to them....and the poor. What? When have you heard a TV [or twitter/web...] evangelist say this?

Of course the authorities - both the occupying Romans and the Jewish hierarchy enforcing their laws saw this dude as a threat....enough that he needed to be murdered - for sedition. Oh, but he was such a good Jewish boy!

So we see this Palestinian! Jew who was illiterate, poor, a stone worker [few trees so not a carpenter]...a low class scum essentially. But wait! My very brief summary is excluded from the evangelical's nice SELL-able story. You don't need to change anything. Just go to church, bible study, say a few words and study DOCTRINE. The religion becomes one of shoving your doctrine on others - not the radical social change that Christ lived and called for. In fact, he didn't say believe in me. He said, first you must repent: i.e. change: stop doing wrong. And he wasn't talking about masturbation or homosexuality or making love to a beautiful women [or man]. Not a very sell-able message. We also see a similar de-radicalization of Judaism. Once a radical social movement drawing much from the prophets, "lamed out" to be a Torah-based ritualized religion.

Christ! You should have known better! But that is the point. As "christians" pick and choose: i.e. destroy the message - they proclaim how right they are and how wrong the rest are [all funda-mentalists do this: whether atheist, Muslim, ...]. But they miss the point. Jesus stressed dying for your "brother"...sacrificing all to help the other - even if it is an "enemy" or occupier. But who wants to follow this crap message? Not a lot of fun to me!

Time to get into your expensive car, pollute God's land [killing the poor and all], go to church...and "praise" [with the mouth - not the entire body/life] the Creator.... What a sham. What a shame. Speak out and they will murder you - as they did to the real Christ. Good luck challenging institutions of conformity. The cross awaits you and your ideas!

Monday 12 February 2018

Jesus 4 Sale [limited time offer or it's off to hell you go, bitch]


Cool church service
A band on stage
A young pastor
But no Jesus on stage

Church on insta
Flashy pics
Wow video
But Jesus got banned by the authorities

They didn't like his message
To sell all and give to the poor
Bad for capitalism
Sing praise to Jesus: consume Jesus...yum yum...

We'll 'water down' the message
It's easy 123
Just say you're sorry
Jesus sees through the platitudes


Feel the energy
Sway with us....

We're all so happy and 'gay'
Jesus said first you must repent: change. stop doing wrong...then you can believe.

We even accept 'the gays'
We love 'em all
No judgement [yet we will say it's wrong if you corner us]
Jesus says you will be judged by how you live/love [verb - not emotion]

We're not perfect
We might even hurt you
Only God won't
Ah, now we are not responsible to be/act loving-ly [Jesus demanded to be 'perfect']

Other churches have too many rules
"You shouldn't....."
We're just about acceptance
Jesus said you must sacrifice/die to your-self for others [no new iphone for billy :(]

We're just normal people
We are the status quo
No challenging [political/econonmic/justice/equality...] questions here
Jesus challenged the racism of the Jews, the power/wealth/lives of the religious/political leaders...

Jesus was just a normal dude
He would have an insta account now
Just like us...he wouldn't stand out...
Christ was assassinated because he represented the oppressed

We're so wishy washy about substantial matters of living
By NOT demanding change
We are supporting
The oppression of the earth, the poor, the land, the weak, the air...

Let's go for a drive
And listen to the sermon
Ah, feel the breeze
Meanwhile the Tar Sands and corporations [and war for oil] devour God's land

The consumeristic  message is clear:
Jesus is real cheap
Like a whore
You can take and take and take

We love the bible
[well....a few select verses: PAC theology: pick and choose]
Such a warm and fuzzy character Jesus was/is
Who was crucified for being an anarchist: a rebel against the state and powers that be

Treason all the way
The Romans were more honest about his threat
But let's just dance around
Singing praises to our peace-full lord and saviour. Amen.


Thursday 1 February 2018

Spiritual/Religious Leaders Lead The People Astray




The spiritual woman follows
The spiritual 'master'
Taking absorbing every word
As 'gospel' truth

The religious follow the spiritual
Following some leaders who knows the secrets
They do not know
"Please share your in-sights with me"

Like children
The followers absolve them-selves
Of any responsibility
I will believe and obey

Dis-daining science
Disdaining questioning
Disdaining evidence
But I feel it is true

Placebos work because people believe
Even when they know they are placebos
It's about "faith"
Believe in the healer

Don't believe in your-self
Don't believe in real-it-y
Don't believe in ration-al 'thought'
Don't believe in questioning

Where/how/why do these leaders get their 'special-ness'?
It is beyond this world
It is out of reach
For a mere mortal like me

Help me
I will follow you
I will pay you
With money, my life, my attention, my mind, my body...

My soul...
Longs for the truth
But truth cannot be determined by intuition
Which is conditioned, projected, fabricated

"As for the prophets
Who lead my people astray,
If one feeds them,
They proclaim 'peace'" [Micah 3]