The Poor Suffer Most From Environmental Injury

It is the poor and working people who are most burdened by environment injury. They host the toxic dumps and incinerators and sewage plants, work in factory fumes, pay for the bottled water they can't afford, and suffer in stifling city apartments when public beaches are closed. 

Meanwhile, the wealthy can cut and run - they enrich themselves by polluting our rivers or falling our ancient timber, and then fly off to some private paradise behind a guarded driveway. 

The rest of humanity is left with contaminated and denuded landscapes. 

Astonishingly, the church, especially evangelical and fundamentalists branches, condone the above - ignoring the greatest command to love thy neighbour [and care for God's creation - which includes humans]. They proclaim wealth is fine as long as you "share". Odd that Jesus says to sell all and give to the poor to follow him...And James condemns the wealthy for their wealth and for not paying their workers....it's called greed. But it's "okay" to have a BMW, a big house, a cottage, etc. as long as you "share". Right! Let's see them really share their goods. Once again the gospel's demands are watered down - sell-able. 

At least the Pope is calling for sacrifice and change in the lives of the rich. He notes that climate change is because of human impact [of especially the rich] and, therefore, rich humans must change NOW. Let's see act-i-on now. Let's see this preached/lived from the pulpits of the church, state, factory, schools...

Above quote from The Green Bible: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "The River Keepers"

  

"'Christians' Are The Most Dishonest People In The World..."

Like the photo, Jesus' demands are an inversion of "worldly" values:

[By "Christian" I am referring to the" non-progressive" 'type'...ranging from nominal to evangelical to fundamentalist but primarily the latter ]
 
How do people who say the bible is the word of God and must be believed and obeyed, and, yet, continuously ignore the very tenets of their faith? Well, let’s see. Jesus told his followers to “love thy neighbor”. Hmm. So show me some “Christians” who do this – in their LIVES. The last part is key: a person’s life is about how they LIVE. Living means how they get around, what food they eat, their jobs, their investments, their words, how they treat others [including non-humans] – to name a few things. So let’s look at how North American middle class “Christians” shape up.

 

I have yet to see a “Christian” who doesn’t drive, if given a choice. So they pollute the air/land/water/soil… – which are God’s  - according to Lev. 25 “the land is mine”….Oh, oh…here come the excuses. It’s great to talk about the “benefits” of being a Christian but run from the demands. Ironically Jesus said “you must repent and believe”. That means one must change from doing harm and wrong…and do good…to be a Christian. It’s not about dogma but DO-ing right.

“Christians” murder by driving! The invasion of Iraq/Afghanistan and many more places was for oil and hegemony. This wiped out MILLIONS of people and more nonhumans. The Land was/is devastated. Is this respect/love of God’s creation and neighbor?

Lying to justify the church’s interpretation/ignoring of the bible never ends. Whenever Jesus talks about the poor…the church ignores and talks about how God loves everyone…that is, those sitting in the pews.

The bible says you can’t love God if you don’t love [feed] your neighbor whom you can see. A few set up food banks and offer dinners to the poor. But the rest don’t do a thing. Instead, they get the latest phone, go on vacation [flying: polluting to no end]…while the poor don’t have even the scraps thrown in the garbage. Shame.

“Christians” lie about abortion, evolution, wealth,…While Jesus says that one must sell all and give to the poor to be a believer, the church lies and says “as long as you give us your money, God loves you”. Not Jesus’ words but the church’s! And while the bible constantly says God is on the side of the poor and hears the cries of the labourer, the church ignores both. In fact, any talk of wealth leads to the same lame lie “as long as you share”. My neighbor who has a newly renovated, insulated, heated garage bigger than most peoples’ homes, filled with another home [one on wheels], a boat, workshop…claims he shares. Huh? It’s empty except for his possession. Love thy neighbor! He goes on his missions…and makes this well known! But he comes back to his mansion. Love or greed? And, of course, the church says nothing. Well they do say, “good job man of faith”. 

Ironically, the bible writer, James, says that faith without works is dead. Dead! How can you misinterpret this? Guess what? “Christians” do….Showing neither good works nor faith…but more lies to justify their materialism, greed and selfishness. Love? Lies!

"We Really Do Love Our Neighbour As Our-Selves"

The remarkable thing is that

we really do love our neighbour

as ourselves:

we do unto others

as we do unto ourselves

We hate others when we hate ourselves.

We are tolerant towards others

when we are tolerant toward ourselves.

We forgive others when we forgive ourselves.

We are prone to sacrifice others

when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.

It is not love of self

but hatred of self

which is at the root of the troubles

that afflict our world.

-Eric Hoffer

Are Christians Loving Their Neighbours By Invading Them?

When will "Christians" take Jesus' words "to love your neighbour as yourself" seriously. Was the bombing in Iraq an act of love...or greed. Clearly the reason for the invasion was to get control of the second largest oil reserve in the world, keep the U.S. dollar as the currency used for oil purchases and to have a presence in the Middle East.

While supporting Al Qaeda in the past, and also supporting Saddam during the Iraq-Iran "war", the U.S. creates powers that do much harm. And now Obama and Harper are escalating the attacks on ISIS. ISIS was created by the earlier invasion of Iraq.

Remembrance Day was to be about "the war that ended all wars"...as Obama deploys more troops now!
And what do Christians do to protect the people/land? Shame. Listen to this war vet in his last days and to what he has to say about the lies, greed, the SIN that WE allow/cause...and the sin of the church...

Christians And Jews Fail The Test: Maintain Justice...

The Jewish Scriptures are very critical of the injustice that the Jews lived. Unfortunately, most church and synagogue goers ignore the Hebrew Prophets and their call to social justice. If they heeded the demands, the Palestinians would not be suffering now or for the last nearly 50 years under the illegal occupation by Israel.

Hear this...you women who oppress the poor

and crush the needy...

They do not know how to do right...

who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses...

You trample on the poor

and force him to give you grain....

I hate, I despise your religious feasts;

I cannot stand your assemblies...

But let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-ending stream!

The time will surely come

when you will be taken away with hooks,

the last of you with fishhooks...

Amos 3-5

Above is a message from a recent rally in Hamilton, Ontario. Click for more.

Ignore This: Living In Luxury Condemned By James

Church-goers deny what the bible says – or at least they “explain it away”. While the book of James surely condemns wealth, many react, “God blesses with wealth”. Hmm. Where does that come from? Did Jesus say that? Here they loosely refer to the Old Testament. Hmmm. Usually they ignore the OT. But it’s convenient for legitimizing their exploitive lives. Not only does this ignore the context, but it denies and distracts from the James text and from what Jesus said. 

And such purveyors of "truth" try referring to some Old Testament examples of wealth. Hmm. So they ignore the OT except when it's time to justify their greed. This is what I call PAC Theology [pick and choose theology].

So let’s look at James.  Let’s remember that the men {not women, not God] who decided which books would be in the bible barely agreed to including James. Why? It is “too Jewish” – i.e. it doesn’t “spiritualize” life but is practical and “this worldly”.  It doesn’t, if we are honest, allow for changing the rich and poor to mean “in a spiritual sense”. It also, as with Jesus’ teaching, reinforces a kingdom in the authors’ days – or soon to come during their lives.

1:10: But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.

1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their oppression and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world [materialism, favouritism toward the rich – ch. 2]

2:5f.  Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world [materially, status-wise] to be rich in faith and to INHERIT THE KINGDOM he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?...Are they not the ones slandering the noble name of him to who you belong?

Wow. Have you ever heard such pronouncements made in church? No way! Rather, the minister [read liar] changes the bible to fit his [usually a man in evangelical churches – women still being forbidden from ‘leading’] ideology. Let’s be honest – this is lying. This is deceiving.  This is justifying the oppressors’ place in the world. Though the texts cited condemn the rich, the church dis-honestly changes the message to “soften” its impact. You know, God loves everyone [the same] - even Hitler? Oh no he was bad. 

We will continue with the text in a later blog. And it only gets harsher for the privileged. 

This painting by Hamilton artist Peter Reitsman sums up the church and the "christian" nation with respect to the rich, fair distribution of wealth and social justice:

Jesus Domesticated, Packaged, Sell-able

The once revolutionary Jesus has become a peaceful, nice, Caucasian friend. Does anyone wonder why he was murdered on a cross? To many church goers the cross represents hope, resurrection, etc. But what did it mean in Jesus' time - and isn't this more important?

The cross was the method of killing, especially among others, insurrectionists. Even the "bandits" on each of Jesus' sides were also insurrectionists - though translators and the church have mistranslated/preached "theives".  This is easy to ignore. But to think that Jesus died as "The King Of The Jews" - which was not a sarcastic label - is threatening to the status quo. And as throughout most of history, the church has established, sanctioned and protected the status quo. Of course this includes invadiing countries, killing/poisoning the natives, destroying cult-u-r-es, repressing/raping women...

To establish oneself as Messiah was threatening - blasphemy - to the Roman occupiers and the Jewish elite. It was a brave and deadly political move. Any challenge to the propped-up high priest or the Roman authorities was swiftly deal with with execution.

What has happened to the story of this revolutionary peasant named Jesus. If he was a carpenter - only mentioned once in New Testament - that meant he was "scum". He was just above the lowest of the low. Where are these people now? The church preaches against revolutionaries and the poor [prostitutes, druggies, ....]. The church needs to revolt against a society that murders, imprisons revolutionaries - those fighting for social justice, environmental justice, women's rights....those oppressed by the "status quo".

Churches tell people "invite Jesus into your heart and you will go to heaven..." - a "nice", sell-able message. A neat package. A lie. Jesus said "repent and believe". That means CHANGE. What kind of change? "Go and sell all your possession and give to the poor....then you will enter the kingdom of God". That is revolutionary, and hard to "sell". I want a Jesus I can fit into my pocket.

He remembers the flowers and the birds...may we repent and stop raping His land: