Today is the Twenty-second of December. I have returned from my mission. It was an adventure (meaning, I thought I might die. It's not a real Adventure until you think you might not make it through).
On this day in 1849, the execution of Fyodor Dostoevsky was cancelled at the very last second (that would count as an adventure, yes). Some sources suggest that this was a mock execution, designed to scare the proto-revolutionaries, but the Tsar (Nicholas I) was known to be prone to paranoia and autocratic whims.
In 1990, Lech Walesa was sworn in as President of Poland.
Paul Krugman steps up to the plate, to answer my question about the difference between Madoff's crime and the economy at large. Thanks, Professor! (Quick answer: there is no difference. I was right!)
If you're wondering how I feel about Obama's choice of pastors to swear him in to office: yeah, I was a little miffed. Warren is a homophobe, plain and simple. Caring for gay people in order to change them, is homophobic. Caring for gay people because you think you're supposed to care for 'the unfortunate' is not only homophobic, but self-righteous and prideful.
But...
As the President-Elect has said, America is a country of opinions, and we should be boisterous with them. Warren is entitled to his opinion, however much it might contradict his supposed religious beliefs. Obama is assembling a 'cabinet of rivals,' a group of advisors who openly disagree, not only with Obama but also each other. Why, then, shouldn't he pick a pastor with whom he disagrees on a point or two?
I suppose my problem with it, is that Obama himself doesn't openly support my side in the present civil rights struggle. Mr. President-Elect, what part of "separate but equal" don't you understand here?
To my Christian friends: best to stop reading here today, unless you're extremely open-minded. Skip to the green stuff at the end. I am not implicating you in anything written below; what follows is a critique of modern, contemporary religiosity, and not your personal beliefs and practices. I do not believe that any of my friends practice or condone human sacrifice. But I do know that contemporary Christian parents have been known to try to kill their children in the name of God. It happens, and this is why.
Christianity is digging its own grave, while money-grubbing and power-hungry charlatans are taking over the pulpit. Rev. Warren: as far as anyone knows, Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. Jesus never said anything about caring for the less fortunate but only if they try to be more like you. In fact, I think he said something like "judge not, lest ye be judged," right? Hmm.
Today's 'christianity' has nothing to do with Jesus except fetishizing his image, which is why I call it 'Christianism,' or 'Jesusism.' Didn't Jesus throw the moneychangers out of the Temple? Didn't Jesus tell you to pray privately? Didn't Jesus preach tolerance and acceptance? Jesus never said "go worship me in a stadium every sunday and fork over the cash." No, he said "do it like I do," which is to say (being Jewish himself): don't work on Saturday, and quietly observe the (Jewish) holy days. Not Christmas, not Easter: Passover, Rosh Hashana. Maybe even Hanukkah. But never his own birth, and certainly not his own death.
How positively ghoulish.
The "God" of the Old Testament is a bloodthirsty monster. The "God" of the New Testament is invisible and has nothing to do with the world as we see it, unless you want to think of Him as the one who orchestrated Jesus's death, in which case he's still vengeful and bloodthirsty, and demanding human sacrifice. We're told to "worship" an image of a man being executed.
Jesus is rolling over in his grave.
All that aside, we have managed to do one good thing with this season, and that's to have turned it into a celebration of charity, the best thing we can do for each other. I hope your winter celebrations are filled with love and warmth and caring and consideration and respect for one another, whatever holiday you choose to celebrate (yes, even Christmas). May the next year be more peaceful and prosperous for us all (to the extent that we can all prosper at once).
Love!
Why is my finger twitching as I aim for the "publish post" button...?
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2 comments:
really? nothing on the adventure?
Actually, Istvan, there is a pretty important difference between Christianity and Jesusism. Christianity is a religion about how to escape this world and go to heaven after you die (or the lack thereof, and going to hell). Jesusism is a philosophy of life that is based on the better teachings of Jesus.
As was a Christian for almost forty years and I got tired of hearing about how sinful I am and how I need to keep my sins confessed so that I can someday "fly away." Most of what I heard of Jesus' teachings were in order to support the apostle Paul's notion that if someone just believed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, they would have their personal sins forgiven and go to their personal heaven someday.
Jesusism is, on the other hand, about transforming us and our world NOW by doing what he said to do: heal the sick, feed the hungry, help the poor, stand up for justice, and sacrifice ourselves (not to appease an angry God but) for the good of others.
To me, this is a huge difference. Christianity is a religion about Jesus. Jesusism is a way of following Jesus.
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