Franklin Graham Invokes God

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   Sooner28posted 11 years ago

   http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/16/f … ck-on-god/
   
   Why must these fundamentalist, theocratic pastors make these sorts of unsubstantiated claims about one candidate winning because people didn't vote for "biblical values"? 
   
   They wouldn't like a discussion about what sorts of "values" the Bible espouses, but that is a separate issue. 
   
   Conservative fundamentalist pastors should take heed that the country is changing, and not just demographically.  The number of unbelievers in any God are rising, and the remaining believes are becoming much more tolerant.  There will come a time when preaching fear of hell and bigotry towards homosexuals will no longer provide a pastor with a living. 
   
   History is also going to be written by people who are in favor of equal rights for gay Americans, and don't believe anyone deserves eternal torture simply because the individual happens to be skeptical about biblical authority and the authenticity of Jesus Christ's divinity.
   
   It's an inexplicable aspect of conservative Christianity that it's main spokespersons do not raise the consciousness of Americans on poverty, pollution, or inhumane wars.  Instead, they spend their media appearances lamenting the progress of gay rights and the fact that women may be using birth control more often than they used to.  This is indefensible. 
   
   Why can't these pastors speak like the nun Sister Simone Campbell, who claimed today on MSNBC:
   
   "Food stamps have been the lifeline for the working poor.  Working poor people in our country do not earn enough to keep both a roof over their head and food on the table, and a whole bunch of the poor people I’ve met on the bus don’t have cars to live in. So, I think we have to be responsible as a nation: we have chosen not to raise minimum wage, we’ve chosen rather to have food stamps as a way to let people eat. And I’m sorry but, I believe as a Catholic and as a Christian, that everyone has a right to eat.”
   
   Rant over.

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      A Thousand Wordsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I always enjoy a good rant as long as what's being said is relevant and intelligible. So, kudos. I genuinely hope that this country doesn't start to resemble the Dark Ages. I'd rather we just split, sInce it seems people want to sucede anyway.

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      Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      “We need someone like a Jerry Falwell to come back and resurrect the Moral Majority movement where you get people that have a moral background who are willing to come together and vote for moral issues that are important to this nation.”
      
      I'm always left confused when guys like Franklin Graham think they are more moral then the rest of us, at the same time as trying to get someone voted in who will lower taxes for the rich and raise tax for the middle class and get ride of any type of universal heath care. This guy goes around spreading hate against gays and he thinks he is more moral.

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   LauraD093posted 11 years ago

   I enjoyed this as usual Sooner28, the people voted and the president was re-elected for good or bad that is how our democratic process works. The mere fact that Romney didn't even win Massachusetts or Maine was a good example of those of us that did not vote our various religious view-points.Separation of church and sate and freedom of religion were put into place for a reason, the diversity that has developed in the US and will continue to do so (I fervently hope) is one that needs not to be called  for but demanded of our government by all United States citizens.Non-issues such as birth control  have never belonged on the political agenda but still the more conservative member of our society persist in making a legal issue a political one. The support of Gay marriage is another that should hold no political clout but always does. Distension makes head-lines when our environment and unemployment should be leading the pack. Rant or not your hubs are always informative and well written. Ranting may be what's called for in our political climate today.

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      Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes rants help .
      
      Obama did mention climate change recently, and said SS was not going to be cut, at least in a deficit reduction deal, so I am feeling slightly positive.

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   wildernessposted 11 years ago

   Religion is indeed changing it's face in America (and over the world, I think) but it always lags far behind the mainstream population, particularly in the area of tolerance for others.
   
   Given enough time, it will come to accept these things but of course by then society in general will have moved on to other issues the church hasn't yet accepted and will fight tooth and toenail.  It's a never ending process as two of the basic tenets of religion are control and resistance to any change at all.

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      Gypsy Willowposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Totally agree with wilderness. America cannot sink much lower. So glad the election is over and the hate rants on TV have stopped. Nothing christian about those.or bushes terrible wars.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Oh, we could go a LOT lower.  American has advanced tremendously over it's history.  It would be terrible to go back to the days of sweat shops or child labor.  To the days when women were expected to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen or to when blacks were treated as animals.
         
         We could return to the old days (outside OUR heritage but within humanities) and start another pogrom to wipe the infidels (muslims) from the face of the earth, along with anyone else that doesn't believe in our personal interpretation of God. 
         
         I'll take where we are, socially and morally, while never believing that is good enough - while recognizing that there is always room for improvement.

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            A Thousand Wordsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Good point

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      Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed.

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   chefsrefposted 11 years ago

   It still stuns me that when so called christians (little C christians) talk about morals they invariably talk about somebody else's sex life.
   When I read the Bible I see little about sex and more about forgiveness and helping the poor. The conservative position has been to do less to help the poor, do more to help the wealthy and crack down on sex by stopping contraceptives, abortion and gay rights.
   Fortunately the election shows that we are moving beyond that medieval mindset.
   Now will there be a time when we move beyond our militarism and worship of greed?

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