The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    stillidealistic's picture

    Religious Freedom? I Think Not.

    By stillidealistic on Fri, 04/10/2015 - 6:48pm |

    Religious freedom, my ass.

    None of this stuff going on right now is about religious freedom. It's about fundamentalist Christians wanting to shove THEIR religion down the throats of everyone else.

    I haven't heard a SINGLE SOLITARY Christian leader come out and say how wrong it was for the country to basically FORCE Mormons to abandon polygamy, even though it was a basic tenant of their religion from the get-go.

    I haven't heard a SINGLE SOLITARY Christian leader come out and say that the Muslims should be able to practice Sharia Law, according to their religion.

    I say we just honor the whole idea of the separation of church and state as the forefathers intended. 

    And even Jesus, himself, was on board with that. Roman law required that the people had to carry the soldiers swords for a maximum of a mile. Jesus told the people, "if they ask you to carry them a mile, carry them two." 

    If you're interested in another perspective on how Christians might conduct themselves when faced with people who don't share their faith, try reading this: 

    http://tenthousandplaces.org/2015/04/01/bake-for-them-two/

    It's an excellent piece on how the Master expected His people to behave. 

    FORCING people to follow God/Jesus is not part of the plan. 

    And seriously, fellow Christians, be careful about what you wish for. With all these demands for religious freedom, you may find yourselves with polygamous neighbors and/or Satan worshippers or people who practice Sharia Law - and let's be candid here, you aren't REALLY hoping to protect their religious freedoms, are you?

    Comments

    Thanks, Stilli. "Bake for them two"---what a terrific analogy and perhaps something which can break through this latter day hypocrisy.

    Edit to add: And then I reconsidered. Even that approach is a little suspect. Why not just bake the one cake and get on with life.


    by Oxy Mora on Fri, 04/10/2015 - 11:44pm

    Oxy, I think it's all about going above and beyond what is required. I am sickened by the way the "Christian right" is behaving, and I'm looking for a wake up call wherever I can find it - something has GOT to bring them back to their senses. 

     


    by stillidealistic on Sat, 04/11/2015 - 2:23am

    Just great, Stilli.  Yes, be careful what you ask for demand.  I divide Christians into two factions.  There are the Christians who practice their faith and don't feel the need to force anyone else to practice it, too, and then there is the "Christian" Right who long ago saw that simply usurping the word "Christian" gave them all the power they needed. 

    They deserve no respect.  We need to keep reminding them of that.


    by Ramona on Sun, 04/12/2015 - 8:18pm

    I most certainly fall into the former, Ramona. 

    It is imperative that we keep the separation between church and state. So much evil has been done in the name of religion.

    I keep harping that freedom OF religion also means freedom FROM religion. If we are to be truly free in this country, no one can be forced to accept the tenants of the religion of anyone else. The leaders of our country should tend to the business of leading the country and leave us to practice our religions the way we see fit (or not at all,) within the confines of the law. This mixing cannot have a happy ending, and we will, in fact, lose the republic our forefathers worked so hard to give us. 


    by stillidealistic on Sun, 04/12/2015 - 11:50pm

    Here is a view of the current battles being waged by Conservative Christians making clear that they know that they are losing the moral war. you may find it encouraging.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vr-marianne-zahn/traditional-worship-is-th...


    by rmrd0000 on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 10:27am

     they are losing the moral war

    Most Christian faiths have already adulterated Gods word, leading to the loss of morality and all sorts of injurious things.    

    In the link you provided; Is that an idol in the picture, with sacrificial smoke? 

    The Ten Commandments

    20 …. 4 d“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 eYou shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am fa jealous God, ……….

    Exodus 20:1-5


    by Resistance on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 6:00pm

    I see a Christian painting and candles. 

    Do you see a child sacrifice to Molek?


    by rmrd0000 on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 6:14pm

    I don't know that I saw a sacrifice to Molek, but I did note Druid influence, adulterating what one would assume is a picture of the authors Christian associates.

    Why would anyone care about considering the morality, God expects from his servants, when it is obvious, many don't really care, that God abhors Idols.

    For all that matters to some, is that it makes the group happy and they can call themselves Christians. (CINO) 

    Hypocrites. 


    by Resistance on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 10:25pm

    In the Federalist Papers, Essay 10 by Madison, 2nd to the last paragraph so states ...

    A religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part of the Confederacy; but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face of it must secure the national councils against any danger from that source. 

    Madison assumes a confederation of religious elders would keep all religious factions at bay because if one religious group attains political power, those in conflict with their doctrine would be in peril. So while it addresses the question of how to guard against factions, or groups of citizens, with interests contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community, it fails to recognize multiple religious factions entering into a conspiracy to promote their religious christian views upon others at the state and national level. I believe he felt that being given to right to practice their beliefs without the heavy hand of the government on them would be an incentive to refrain from entering the political arena.

     

    As for the God/Jesus hang up, it wasn't until the end of the 1800's when someone made the connection God and Jesus were one in the same. In fact, most of the people  involved with the Constitution approval process did believe in God, but you won't find a reference they believed Jesus was God.

     

    And article about baking two cakes reminds me of a town in Pakistan along the Indus river with an inscription at the town gate from Jesus, which says ...

     ... The Earth is a bridge to heaven. Build no house upon it ...

    Seems to be a christian means you have to have a poor understanding of language.

     


    by Beetlejuice on Thu, 04/23/2015 - 1:13pm

    Here's a tidbit for handling someone of strong religious faith which they mean to impact upon you.

     

    All christian religious ritual is based on old pagan Roman diety worship. What we see today is exactly how they worshipped back when Constantine declared christianity as the state religion of Rome. So they just transferred the old props used for the pagan gods for the new one God of State. 

     

    Just a little something I picked up from an archeologist in Europe who as excavating old Celt sites. 


    by Beetlejuice on Thu, 04/23/2015 - 1:24pm