This brief column will deliver a much-needed reality check to those who consider themselves "Christian Conservatives", courtesy of the Good Book
The "Christian" Right asks: Why should my tax money pay to re-organize home loans for people who are about to lose their homes?
Jesus answers:
"Love your neighbor as yourself." -Matthew 22:39
The "Christian" Right asks: How many people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgages that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? (Courtesy of Rick Santelli of CNBC)
Jesus Answers:
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." -Matthew 6:24
The "Christian" Right asks: Why should my tax money pay for someone else's health care, food stamps or education?
Jesus Answers:
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." -Mark 12:17
The "Christian" Right asks: Who are you to take my hard-earned money and give it to those less fortunate?
Jesus Answers:
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
-Luke 16:19 through 25
The "Christian" Right asserts: These "socialist"/"communist", "far-Left loons" are going to take my wealth and redistribute it to the poor. I made that money...it belongs to ME
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, responds:
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you...Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. -James 5:1, 4
Editor's Note:
You people on the "Christian" Right...IS THIS MESSAGE SINKING IN? Your own savior, Jesus Christ, and his servant, James, have indicted, tried and convicted you on the basis of your self-serving opposition to anything equitable. You claim to make the Bible the basis of your ideology, yet you patently disregard the warnings set forth in the New Testament regarding hoarding the wealth that God Has bestowed upon you.
Let's get one thing straight here: YOU have earned NOTHING. Your blessings are a direct result of GOD'S grace upon you, not some sense of entitlement on your part that your good fortune should benefit YOU and YOU ONLY. For you people on the Right to wail and moan because someone wants to use a small portion of God's blessing to you to keep working-class families in their homes - or to find employment after corporations sent their jobs to another country - is a DISGRACE. Exactly what in the scripture leads you to believe that this line of thought is congruent with the teachings of Christ?
I know that my progressive brothers and sisters out there are of varying beliefs (or lack thereof) regarding matters of spirituality. We are proud to go to battle with you - regardless of what your beliefs may be. However, please know that your support of economic and social equity - including federal assistance to keep families in their homes - DOES make a difference. If we stand united against those who would fatten themselves while the underprivileged suffer, there is literally no mountain we cannot climb.
As for our adversaries i.e. those who call themselves "The Christian Right", I can only imagine what Jesus must think of the wealth they are accumulating in his name. They have opposed programs aimed at providing health care for children, jobs for the unemployed, and now assistance to those who may be homeless on the street soon. These people must at some point ask themselves if their selfish grasp on their God-given wealth is worth losing their souls over. Ultimately, only they can answer that question - be it in this life or the next...
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