October 21, 2012 8:09 AM

It's not Christianity that scares me; it's Christians that terrify me

….God still appears to be a bit of an unbearable twit. Petulant. Uptight. Whiny as a third-grader with recurring lice. How do we know? Because, against all deeper understanding and without a single care that He’s not the slightest bit real in the literal sense, the Almighty still insists on keeping score, observing your every move, measuring your capacity to hate others who do not agree with your narrow view of life, or love, or America. It’s true. If all reports for the past week - and the past handful of incoherent centuries - are to be believed, God does nothing but laze about the couch with a golden iPad, tracking how many times He’s mentioned on television, who won the Packers game, how often you watch porn or say something nice to a gay person, and who commits more acts of guilt-addled fear in his glorious name. Oh, and love. There’s love in there somewhere. Maybe. Unless you’re a liberal. Or Muslim. Or gay. Then you’re on your own.

Growing up, my parents for a time forced me to go to Sunday School. They weren’t Christians, but maybe they thought that my immortal soul was in peril. Or perhaps they just wanted some time alone and used Sunday School as an excuse to get me out of those house for a couple of hours. Whatever the reason, I did use the experience to learn a few things about the teachings of Jesus Christ. I remember learning that Jesus stood for some pretty cool things: peace, love, kindness, tolerance, and charity…and that there were ample instances that showed exactly how He put those things into practice. Christianity seemed a pretty basic and serviceable religion that stood for some very positive things. It wasn’t about fear, intolerance, bigotry, or oppression. It was about humanity pulling together to make the world a better, safer, and more peaceful and harmonious place…and who could argue with that?

That was then; in my youthful naivete, I assumed that Christians actually took the teachings of Jesus Christ to heart and endeavored to lead Christ-like lives. Yeah, well…it seems that I may have given some Christians a fair bit too much credit. Judging by the brand of Christianity practiced by so many on the Rabid Religious Right, God is a mean-spirited SOB simply itching for an excuse to kick some non-believing heretic ass.

Did you happen to notice how Fox News was simply bursting at the fanatical seams to tell everyone that, during our recent pair of national political conventions, the Republican party mentioned God twelve times in their platform? Twelve times! They must really love God. They must love God, despite how their candidate believes God’s message appeared on magic golden plates to a huckster polygamist in the woods in the 1820s, and called it a religion. Never mind that now….

And what of the Democrats? They only mentioned God once during their convention, maybe, in passing, sort of under their breath, and apparently completely forgot the part about Jerusalem being the capital of Godlandia. Can you believe it? If there’s one thing God cares about most in the eternal flux of the vast and impenetrable universe, it’s regional cartography. And college football.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: I have no beef with Christianity, in the same way I have no argument with Islam or Judaism or any other religion. Almost without exception, religions at their most basic are about making the world a better, more harmonious, and more civil place. No, the problem I have is with Christians who use their belief system as a club with which to bludgeon those who believe and live differently. When Christianity is used as a means to justify your hatred and prejudice, something’s wrong. Very wrong. When Christianity is used to enforce social and political control over others, you’ve become the Social Conservative wing of the Republican Party…and you clearly have no understanding of the teachings of the Savior you profess to rever.

For the Rabid Religious Right, “God” is merely the tool they employ to impugn and malign their opponents, usually evil, godless Liberals and Democrats, who clearly don’t love Jesus the way they should. Mitt Romney, in full-on epic pander mode, actually suggested that President Obama wants to remove God from…well, everything: our money, our national identity, our scared and angry populace…. What our evil godless excuse for a President would replace God with remains to be seen, but what else could you expect from an America-hating Kenyan Muslim…who’s also probably gay??

I’m not a Christian, but I think I remember enough from my long-ago Sunday School lessons to understand that many Christians wouldn’t recognize Jesus Christ if He showed up wearing a flashing name tag. If you believe the words of people like Bryan Fischer, Tony Perkins, Pat Robertson, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum, you’re not a Christian. You’re a fear- and hatred-driven Social Conservative terrified that others might be having fun…and doesn’t that sound like a very sad way to live?

Today’s GOP is no more or less the party of God anymore than the Democratic Party. It’s just that Republicans seem far more willing to put their hatred and self-righteous bigotry on full display in their desire to create a full-on Dominionist Theocracy.

WE DESERVE BETTER.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on October 21, 2012 8:09 AM.

Something for fundies to consider when you take your progeny to see "The Lion King" was the previous entry in this blog.

The Bible and comic books: More in common than you might think is the next entry in this blog.

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