I often get forwarded emails from fundamentalist relatives espousing their hate filled, intolerant, pharisaic screeds. Well, one recently landed in my inbox that sent me through the roof. I just have to share it with all of you. It begins with this delightfully anti-American verse:
America the Beautiful,
or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.
Read on to discover the rest of this disgusting poem, it's disgusting author, and my response to the fundies in my family...
You see, I come from a small town in Washington, product of a quintessentially fundamentalist Christian family. My mother's side is conservative baptist and my father's side is now non-denominational protestant after generations of Catholicism.
My grandmother decided to forward me this email from my aunt relating this repugnant poem penned by none other than ex-Chief Justice of the Alabama Court, Roy Moore.
The following is a poem written by Judge Roy Moore from Alabama.
Judge Moore was recently sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten
Commandments in his courtroom foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship
and now they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama.
America the Beautiful,
or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.
Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.
Our children wander aimlessly
poisoned by cocaine,
Choosing to indulge their lusts,
when God has said abstain.
From sea to shining sea,
our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God's love
and a need to always pray.
We've kept God in our temples,
how callous we have grown.
When earth! is but His footstool,
and Heaven is His throne.
We've voted in a government
that's rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges
who throw reason out the door,
Too soft to place a killer
in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.
You think that God's not angry,
that our land's a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
before His judgment comes?
How are we to face our God,
from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
but stem this evil tide?
If we who are His children,
will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face
and mend our evil way:
Then God will hear from Heaven
and forgive us of our sins,
He'll heal our sickly land
and those who live within.
But, America the Beautiful,
if you don't - then you will see,
A sad but Holy God
withdraw His hand from Thee.
~Judge Roy Moore>
Pass this on and let's lift Judge Moore up in prayer. He has stood
firm and needs our support.
IN GOD WE TRUST !
Now, I detest, loathe, and despise Roy Moore more than any other fundie leader. Santorum, Hobson, Falwell, none of them come close to raising my bloodpressure like a simple mention of Moore. Maybe it's because Roy comes from the Alabama and is hailed as a leader among these people, inhabitants of the reddest of red states, maybe because Roy has shown arrogance and self-appointed righteousness above and beyond the call, even among fundamentalist leaders. Whatever the cause, this launched me in a writing a response to my Grandmother that I have never dared write before. Here it is.
Don't copy this crap to me! Do you even know who Judge Roy Moore is? He is
the corrupt Alabama judge who was rebuked by the Alabama judicial ethics
panel for
"willfully and publicly" flouting a judicial order that was backed
by the United States Supreme Court. So much for rule of law!
Judge Roy Moore is a direct example of all that is wrong with Christianity in
America today. That you would both forward on this kind of dribble
infuriates me and does not reflect well at all.
This "poem" that you send does nothing more than denigrate the United States
of America. It is full of hypocrisies and vile pharisaic rhetoric. I can't
believe any real "christian" would fall for this crap. Let's look at it,
shall we?
> America the Beautiful,
> or so you used to be.
> Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
> I'm glad they'll never see.
Used to be?? Well, to me, America is still quite beautiful. With the very
first line you begin to dump on America with this anti-American crap. So
much for patriotism.
> Babies piled in dumpsters,
> Abortion on demand,
> Oh, sweet land of liberty;
> your house is on the sand.
You want to talk about abortions? They are increasing under this
administration and it's so-called Christian backers. Abortions were in a
decline during the administration of the secular Clinton. After a so-called
born-again enters the Whitehouse?? Abortion rates have all gone up. Why?
Because the Christian fundamentalists insist on teaching abstinence only
education which has been a proven failure resulting in more unwanted
pregnancies and abortions.
> Our children wander aimlessly
> poisoned by cocaine,
> Choosing to indulge their lusts,
> when God has said abstain.
Again, on and on wailing about how bad America is. Well, get up and look
around. You want to preach about drugs and abstinence in this family? By my
count we have dozens of divorces, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, plenty of drug
use of every kind... all spanning every generation! Name one who is
blameless.
> We've kept God in our temples,
> how callous we have grown.
> When earth! is but His footstool,
> and Heaven is His throne.
What is this? Well, coming from Roy Moore it's obvious he wants his "God" in
our government despite the fact that this country was founded on the exact
opposite idea. Get out your history books?! Why do you think the
protestants came to America in the first place? Do you even know? It is
because the government of England and the other European powers were in bed
with an official state Church. Our ancestors, before fleeing for the new
land, had the government that Roy Moore would have us have.
Do you really want a government of the Pharisees, by the Pharisees and for the
Pharisees?? Because if you do, you can look no further than that scoundrel
Roy Moore. Go ahead, turn your backs on Jesus and follow a Pharisee.
> We've voted in a government
> that's rotting at the core,
> Appointing Godless Judges
> who throw reason out the door,
"Godless Judges" = Anyone who isn't a part of the new pharisaic order.
What are you driving at with this, for pete's sake?? The Glorious Christian
Cultural Revolution that Roy Moore and all those fundamentalists out there
have been itching for is at hand. Sure, your boy Dino Rossi lost in WA (is
this what you gnashing your teeth about), but everybody's favorite born-again
-- George W. Bush -- is in the Whitehouse. The fundamentlists and pharisees
across the nation are rejoicing, yet you still insist on passing around these
anti-American poems... decrying the lack of Roy Moore's in government? My,
oh, my, if Jesus could see you now.
> Too soft to place a killer
> in a well deserved tomb,
> But brave enough to kill a baby
> before he leaves the womb.
Ah, here we go. The heights of "so-called Christian's" hypocrisy. Grandma,
Aunt _, how can you pass along this kind of sentiment?! I no longer call
myself a Christian, although I was raised one and I love Jesus, precisely
because of this kind of hypocrisy by so-called Christians. I don't want to
be counted among this kind. You profess to believe in the bible word for
word... well, how about this one.
THOU SHALL NOT KILL!
See, even though I'm not a Christian, I believe in that. With all my being.
When it comes to abortion? I believe that killing is wrong. When it comes
to the death penalty? I believe that killing is wrong. Yet, here you are
passing along a poem that opposes abortion, but seemingly rejoices in killing
adults. I guess Jesus was "too soft" too. What is so hard to understand:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." -- Mark 12:29-31
Endorsing the death penalty is to break Jesus' greatest commandment.
> If we who are His children,
> will humbly turn and pray;
> Seek His holy face
> and mend our evil way:
>
> Then God will hear from Heaven
> and forgive us of our sins,
> He'll heal our sickly land
> and those who live within.
And here we find out that Roy Moore doesn't know the first thing about real
Christianity. I wonder if you do. Tell me, do you both believe that God
will forgive us our sins if we "mend our evil way"?
All have fallen short of the glory of God! Only by the grace of God are we
saved! Grandma, if you go to heaven it won't be because of anything you did.
It won't be because you are a godly woman who loves her family and who I love
dearly. You see, you are a sinner. A horrible one. I've seen you sin
countless times. No, if you go to heaven it will be by the grace of God and
only by his grace. Same goes for me and for all of us. Or did you forget.
> But, America the Beautiful,
> if you don't - then you will see,
> A sad but Holy God
> withdraw His hand from Thee.
God is not for the righteous. If God withdrew from those who sinned we'd all
be in a sore spot wouldn't we. I can't believe you two would fall for this
stuff. Is this what your church is all about? Remember Jesus? Did he
withdraw his hand from sinners? Did he shun those who failed to mend their
evil ways?
I'm sure you are both familiar with Apostle Matthew. I would suggest you both
go and reread the story of how Jesus met Matthew.
"While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and
"sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw
this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax
collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the
healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means:
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners." -- Matthew 9:10-13
Please. Quit passing around Roy Moore's pharisaic poems. If you want to do
something to brighten my day or let me know you love me, call me. Go out and
express your Christianity in a productive way. Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
Teach sunday school. Love your neighbor as yourself.
If you must continue passing along these pissant missives from Roy Moore and
other so-called Christian fundamentalists... well, I'll leave you with Jesus'
thoughts. Perhaps his words will strike home.
"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
"'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'
"You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions
of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the
commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!" -- Mark 7:6-9
Love, Me.
I haven't received any reply yet. I am both excited and scared to hear what they have to say. Doubtless they'll be pissed and won't have heard a thing I was trying to say... sigh
