Death of the Pat Robertson

It has been reported that Pat Robertson has been sentenced to death in 2006 - see http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1136507338.comments.shtml

As a deeply spiritual person, I find it very difficult to understand the power of religion to corrupt and coerce followers of any sect that demands subservience to God, or any other deity. The teachings of Jesus the Christ are clear: the kingdom of heaven is within (not outside us); and the Father and I are One; these things and greater shall ye do (referring to His miracles and acts of compassion). The Masters representing all Spiritual paths, in their true words, say the same thing: We are all One; there is no separation, except in our minds. For someone to say they have the ear of God and know better than anyone else what He wants for the rest of us is pure egotism. I beleive that Spirit, whatever name you assign It, has only one purpose and that is for each of us to recognize our own Divinity and share that wisdom with others through our acts, not our words. No one, not even Pat Robertson, can know why tragedy strikes one and not another. The greatest women and men in our history have been overwhelmed with personal tragedy, and have risen above it for the benefit and greater good of all.

Let's pay attention to Truth, Beauty and Love. Evil cannot exist in the presence of Love.

Peace be with you,

John

Elmer Gantry.

And may he rest in peace.

My great-uncle Argus was, by turns, a Pentecostal preacher and an alcoholic wife-beating racist. While the wife-beating and the racism was no impediment to being a lay preacher, a little hooch was thoroughly taboo. But Argus had a cycle all his own. He'd fall off the wagon, then volubly repent with tears, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, although rejoicing in the grace of Jesus. Within a few months, he'd be drinking again, which only gave him further opportunities to experience divine forgiveness.

Thing is, he was credited with utter sincerity. At no point, did the faithful cut Argus off. That remarkable dualism ("Satan led me astray, but Jesus brought me home") will doubtless provide DeLay access to the same mechanisms of sin, repentance, and forgiveness as often as he cares to avail himself of them. The suckers never learn.

I'm not a Christian, but I have several friends who are part of what I call the Christian Left: progressive, tolerant, open-minded people who live their faith rather than doing what Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed and these other scoundrels do: mouth piety while quietly committing the very acts they rail against. And as my of my very good Christian friends, who I respect deeply, said when I asked him how it feels to be tarred with the same brush as these criminals, said, "They are not Christians. Being a Christian means acting as Jesus did, not saying one thing and doing another. These people are a disgrace to the faith, and they shame the rest of us with their vile hypocrisy."

What more needs to be said, except when are is the flock of the Christian Right going to wake up and decide that deeds are more important than words?

This article comes at an interesting time for me. I just had a discussion with my son-in-law about Christianity and the search for truth, and have been cemeting (as it were) a few inklings on this.

I've had a pretty steady history of interfacings with fundamentalist Christians over the last 15 or so years, and feel I can see pretty clearly a kind of inside-out quality to the culture and values set. A strong, fairly penetrating culture of lying and self-deception seems to be the lifeblood of a lot of what goes under the name of Christianity in the U.S. Ironically, the Christ represented in the Gospels may have fully anticipated this; the present manifestation may well be exactly the kind of entrenched culture he was assailing as athwart divine purpose in his own time.

But I should get more specific. I don't have my lots cast in with this or that interpretation of scripture or overarching framework in which one "understands" Christ or his teaching. And, as such, I'm invariably the turd in the punchbowl of any "Christian" lovefest I attend. I have found many times that it is excruciatingly easy to call into question the veracity or even the spirtual efficacy of many cherished chestnuts of the pervading Christian culture. My conclusion is the same as that of Tom Paine in "The Age of Reason"; that misbegotten notions of doctrinal compliance only work what he called "moral mischief" among people. In other words, measured (cautious) reinforcement of qustionable beliefs, in controlled social environments of a well-intended acquiesence that passes for grace, only serves to train "the salt of the Earth" to become better and better liars. Well, isn't *that* a kick in the pants!

And I'll name names, here. I'm talking about the kinds of churches where DeLay and his ilk come to preach; and they are, sadly, legion. These are people ripe and ready for the most egregious kids of moral mischief. They're well trained. Very, very well trained. Their religion--as practiced, mind you--demands and accepts nothing less. I've been there; I've seen it. And I've even seen it recently, even though my main connections with that world have been cut in the last few years.

And, to bring this back to Joe's article, it's on display for all to see in recent political events. We see it in fundamentalist support for Bush II in spite of the fact that he's arguably a tyranical moral malefactor of the first order, and certainly not an exemplar of the kind of leader whose guide in matters moral or ethical would be Christ. If you actually attempt to address these issues among the Elect, you'll be shown the door. Even though they're going to live forever, they can't seem to muster up the time to reflect on whether what they claim to believe is actually true.

So: Where *are* their treasures stored up, anyway?