I've had enough of these loud-mouth religious folks telling me what the Christian thing to do is, screaming and yelling with their "high-and-mighty" rhetoric. Randell Terry, James Dobson, and Pat Robertson are the poster-children of these morality preachers, claiming the side of God and Jesus to make their self-righteous bloviations, while endlessly nickel-and-diming their Biblically ignorant supporters.
Yes, I said it. Their supporters are Biblically ignorant. Hell, I'm here to say that the whole cult of organized religion is Biblically ignorant, or maybe more correctly Jesusly ignorant (bet you thought you'd never see Jesus as an adverb).
Why do I say such things? See, there's this thing called the Bible. In the Bible, there are these 4 books, called Gospels. What makes the Gospels so special is they contain the best record we have of the words and deeds of Jesus, including quotes of what Jesus actually said.
And it's Jesus' own words in that Bible which gives us our weapon against the Religious Right.
::: see flip :::
The first Gospel in the Bible is Matthew, which the majority of biblical scholars agree was the first of the four Gospels written. Being first here is very important. It's the closest we will ever get to unfettered access to what Jesus said, before too many humans with their own ambitions, and ambitions for the Church, got in the way.
It is in Matthew chapter 6 where Christians get the most used, and arguably most important prayer: the Lord's Prayer (you know, "Our Father, who art in heaven...). But it doesn't start until verse 9.
What's in verses 1-8 you ask? Let me show you:
Mathew 6:1-8
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father."
"When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward."
"But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
"In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
Did you notice the quotes around each line? Well, that's because Jesus said it. Not Randell Terry, James Dobson, or even Tom DeLay. Jesus. You remember Jesus, right? He's the Lord and Savior these Religious Right folks stand for. I'd say any direct quote for Jesus should be pretty damn important to those who say they follow him.
And I re-emphasize where this direct quote from Jesus shows up in the Bible: The first (and earliest) Gospel, right before the Lord's Prayer
It's the preamble to the Lord's Prayer. It is Jesus telling us what NOT to do when praying before he tells us HOW to pray.
But isn't it strange how every major religious leader/organization seems to gloss over this preamble? Isn't it strange the Lou Dobson goes on TV as a "religious leader", to babble about how much holier he and his group are then us? Did Pat Robertson just choose to ignore the lines spoken from Jesus right before the Lord's Prayer?
I guess the whole Vatican City, and ceremonies to pick a new Pope would be hard to justify if the priest made us repeat Mathew 6:1-8 fifty times for our sins. And all those huge born-again churches popping up all over Suburban America would be hard pressed to justify themselves if they didn't ignore the preamble to the Lord's Prayer.
So I'm not really breaking new ground here. Religious hypocrisy is everywhere. I'm just giving you a new weapon in the Bible.
If you're ever in a discussion with a holy-roller, bring this up. Bring up the significance of Matthew 6:1-8, and how it's in the first Gospel, is a direct quote from Jesus himself, and is the preamble to the Lord's Prayer.
Based on it's position in the Bible, we can rest assured that Jesus though these lines were pretty damn important. Perhaps even more important than the Lord's Prayer itself.