My vote for a new hymn for the crazy conservative Christians to sing this Sunday is as follows.
Our God is a vengeful God
He reigns in Heaven above
He kills indiscriminately
Our God is a vengeful God.
Did you hear about these Kansas Christians? They've decided that God is killing American troops in Iraq and other places because the United States is such a pro-gay place and the US military is a pro-gay organization.
Hmmmm.
Someone must have asked a question they weren't supposed to ask. Someone must have forgotten to tell the Kansans that they aren't allowed to provide answers to such questions.
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The Kansans are traveling the country and protesting outside of the funerals of American soldiers. They sing such standards as, "God hates America" and shout at mourners as they enter the church. Recently, these people showed up in Minnesota and yelled the following at the mother of the slain soldier, "You can't admit you sent your own child to hell!" The leader of the protest then followed that up with, "If she does not heed this warning, she will look up from hell with him."
Now you may be thinking that it is unfair for me to paint Christian conservatives with the same brush as these Kansas Clowns. But I don't think I'm being unfair at all. The most widely known American leader of Christian conservatives is Rev. Pat Robertson, a man who frequently exudes pure hate. Robertson believes God is vengeful and kills innocent Americans as punishment for the political positions of our leaders. Robertson got his position of leadership because not enough conservative Christians were willing to stand up and say, "This dude is crazy."
The other reason I believe it is fair to use a broad brush is that the response to the hate-filled Kansans has NOT come from Christian leaders. Instead, the response is being organized by a group of motorcycle riders called the "Patriot Guard Riders." I love these guys. They show up on their bikes and form both a visual wall and a noise wall between the anti-gay protesters and the mourners.
Our God is a vengeful God
He reigns in Heaven above
He kills indiscriminately
Our God is a vengeful God.
Did you hear about these Kansas Christians? They've decided that God is killing American troops in Iraq and other places because the United States is such a pro-gay place and the US military is a pro-gay organization.
Hmmmm.
Someone must have asked a question they weren't supposed to ask. Someone must have forgotten to tell the Kansans that they aren't allowed to provide answers to such questions.
----
The Kansans are traveling the country and protesting outside of the funerals of American soldiers. They sing such standards as, "God hates America" and shout at mourners as they enter the church. Recently, these people showed up in Minnesota and yelled the following at the mother of the slain soldier, "You can't admit you sent your own child to hell!" The leader of the protest then followed that up with, "If she does not heed this warning, she will look up from hell with him."
Now you may be thinking that it is unfair for me to paint Christian conservatives with the same brush as these Kansas Clowns. But I don't think I'm being unfair at all. The most widely known American leader of Christian conservatives is Rev. Pat Robertson, a man who frequently exudes pure hate. Robertson believes God is vengeful and kills innocent Americans as punishment for the political positions of our leaders. Robertson got his position of leadership because not enough conservative Christians were willing to stand up and say, "This dude is crazy."
The other reason I believe it is fair to use a broad brush is that the response to the hate-filled Kansans has NOT come from Christian leaders. Instead, the response is being organized by a group of motorcycle riders called the "Patriot Guard Riders." I love these guys. They show up on their bikes and form both a visual wall and a noise wall between the anti-gay protesters and the mourners.
But the fact that the motorcycle riders need to show up and fill a void left by Christian leaders is simply wrong. Where are Rick Warren, Jerry Falwell, Richard Lamb, Joel Osteen and their millions of followers?
I think some Christian conservatives have forgotten that there is a New testament in the Bible. They get so busy preaching about sinners (mostly gays these days) that they forget about redemption. They get so busy preaching about sinners that they forget that it was Jesus himself who spent his time among the sinners. These preachers spend so much time preaching about sinners that they begin to get confused and forget that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Most importantly, they forget that sin is sin. There aren't little sins and big sins. There is simply sin. There aren't big sinners or little sinners. There are simply sinners. And with that they fall into a simple trap. They take their focus away from redemption and begin focusing on sin. But that's a pretty uncomfortable place to be. Because our ministers are sinners too. And if you are going to shift your focus to sin then it is much easier to focus on the failings of other people instead of your own failings.
I think some Christian conservatives have forgotten that there is a New testament in the Bible. They get so busy preaching about sinners (mostly gays these days) that they forget about redemption. They get so busy preaching about sinners that they forget that it was Jesus himself who spent his time among the sinners. These preachers spend so much time preaching about sinners that they begin to get confused and forget that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Most importantly, they forget that sin is sin. There aren't little sins and big sins. There is simply sin. There aren't big sinners or little sinners. There are simply sinners. And with that they fall into a simple trap. They take their focus away from redemption and begin focusing on sin. But that's a pretty uncomfortable place to be. Because our ministers are sinners too. And if you are going to shift your focus to sin then it is much easier to focus on the failings of other people instead of your own failings.
Protesting a funeral is wrong. It is heartbreaking that there are those who are willing to use the name of God to incite hatred. The greatest danger for our society, however, comes when that hatred is met with silence.
Fred's quite a guy. The unwritten but official policy in Kansas for a long time has been to ignore him, no matter what it takes. He's a publicity hound, and will do anything to get the kind of attention he has now. It's led to ever-escalating obscene stunts, such as he's currently engaged in.
ReplyDeleteHis "church" last I knew was composed entirely of extended family members.
The "ignore him" policy is well intentioned, but obviously doesn't work well enough. Court challenges have always proved unsuccessful. He makes you really question when tolerance ceases to be a virtue.
I think here in MN, Gov. Pawlenty has initiated some sort of legislation to keep Fred and his ilk away from funerals. I'm still getting over the shock of Timmy Boy doing something vaguely useful. I have yet to see his group prove their arguments Biblically, but then again, some preachers can't be bothered with the Bible.
ReplyDeleteFollow up on that legislation mentioned above...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.startribune.com/587/story/311537.html
Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteI would have voted for that bill if I were in the Leg. I'm generally not a big fan of limiting the locations of protests to only those places where no one sees them and no one hears them but in this case I think it is OK.
The people being protested against are private citizens attending a private event. Setting up a protest-free zone seems fine to me. I'd feel differently if they were protesting an elected offical or doing so at a public event.