The Christians Who Sucketh
by Bing Futch
The Christians Who Sucketh
Bing Futch
I’ve had a number of people visit my web page and express pleasant surprise at the fact that I proclaim to be a Christian. I submit that the surprise is “pleasant” because there is no spouting of Right-Wing hate speech or pious pontification. In fact, the only reason that I don’t just go with the term “spiritual” instead of “Christian”, though I think it’s one and the same, is because: 1) I believe in God 2) I believe in Jesus 3) I believe in the Holy Spirit Of course, I also believe in the virtues of Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Paganism, Krishna, Allah, Yahweh, Mohammed, Vishnu and Sri Yogananda. How do I explain that? At the very essence of man’s nature is the key to divinity, the concept of inviting the spirit into your heart. To me, this bypasses any need for an intercessory (such as a priest or preacher) and allows you to deal with God one-on-one. So, it makes sense in this addlepated collection of blood, bones, flesh and electrical impulses, that it really comes down to you and the Creator, whatever name you may be using in reference to an all-powerful force such as God that manifests itself as spirit, man, animal, atmosphere, energy, etc. Though technology has made this difficult, it is possible that there is someone somewhere who has never heard of Jesus, knows nothing of the stories that are taught in Sunday school, yet still feels the powerful charge of omnicience in the very sky and depth of his own soul – knows what it represents, chooses to connect and follow in the path of light. To say that that person is going to burn for all eternity for not confessing a name he’s never heard before as Lord; it seems contrary to the very essence of a peaceful, loving God. In any case – it’s largely the Right-Wing Screaming Shouting, You’re-Gonna-Burn-In-A-Lovely Hell-Made-Just-For-You, Fundamentalist types, Christian Zionists, Dominionists, the ones with pompadours and too much make-up that spit on the very teachings of Christ even as they hypnotize the sheep of the world with their Old Testament Rumblings about what an awesome God our God is. They’re largely the ones who are cheering on the Israeli shoot-‘em-up and destroy-‘em game that’s being played in the Middle East currently as they shout “hosanna!” and prepare for Rapture Practice. It’s televangelists and the like that give the pure of heart Christians a bad name, and as the words “End Times” begin to be flung about once more like a softball at pre-game practice, it seems that there’s a shocking minority of folks who are attempting to point out that these so-called “Christians” might actually just be the opposite. In other words – “anti-Christians”, leading their followers down the wrong path. A couple of e-mails in response to an article about the fact that Fox News is deliberately hiding details that reveal their “Middle East Analyst” to be one of these Apocalyptic Christian Preachers. > Monday morning, July 24, 2006, in a blatant bit of “lying by omission”, FOX & Friends host Mike Jerrick introduced End of Days Christian preacher and author Michael D. Evans as a “Middle East Analyst.” Evans is the author of the books The American Prophecies: Ancient Scriptures Reveal Our Nation’s Future. He is also the founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Team, whose stated objective is “to have 1 million people praying daily and 100,000 houses of worship praying weekly for the peace and protection of the Jewish people.”
How can a “Middle East Analyst” be so clearly biased in his approach to what is supposed to be “fair and balanced” news? Zowie!
In any case – at this site where the story is linked, some commentary is posted, some with insightful bits, some with gasoline-flavored rebuttal – and then this is posted:
<blockquote>Matthew 7:16-21 By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree cant produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesnt grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
If you don’t act like a Christian, then you arent one. Good fruit obviously shouldnt make people hostile to God. His salvation is for everyone who truly seeks Him, and not for those who falsely invoke His blessing on their wickedness. The end will come, but its not for us to decide when or where.
As to the verity of religious dogma, well, you have to examine them all and see which have merit. For my part, I believe the Bible is the revealed Word of God (in that it means what is says and says what it means, and no man is qualified to give its interpretation, but the Spirit alone). All of this Christian heresy was foretold before the end of the first century. Its simply another sign that the end is coming; whether its near or not is irrelevant. The only issue you must settle is when you bow before the Lord, will you do it gratefully or regretfully. Peace and love to all in the name of my Savior, Jesus the Christ who lives and reigns forever and ever.</blockquote>
Now, this person really handled it right. As did this one:
Though I agree that the Christian Right is completely outside of Christianity, (See this article for how theyre framing Lebanon as Gods work by Israel: http://www.couplescompany.com/Features/Inspirations/Right1.htm )
To associate Christianity with Dispensationalism, what this man preaches is a misnomer. Dispensationalism was created in the 1830s. It relies on Old Testament prophecy, which Christians believe was fulfilled through Christ. Dispensationalists live in the Old Testament. Christians live in the New Testament, which is Gods new covenant with the people of Israel, today the church, upon the deliverance of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. Christians strain the OT through the NT. For example, slavery is okay in the OT. But Christ makes it clear that no man is above or may own another. Like a contract, this new amendment wipes out the old idea that slavery is okay. For a Christian it is not.
For a Dispensationalist, which the majority of Christian Right rapture cultist are, slavery is okay. Theyre not Christian. They live in the destruction and dark times of the OT praying for death and destruction. Christians live in the light and promise of the NT, which delivers eternal salvation for treating your neighbor as yourself and loving and honoring God through action and deed.
Please be careful about associating Christianity, those of us who follow Christ and attempt to live according to the Beatitudes (Blessed are the Peacemakers etc), with the Dispensationalists promoting war, killing, the end of times and hate. According to Revelations, if this is the End of Times, (and I do not believe it is), they fulfill the major requirement that the majority of Christians will follow false leaders. It is referred to as the apostasy and only a remnant continues in Christs path. Dispensationalism is apostasy and what it preaches is not Christianity but hate.
In regards to certain elements of Christianity, such as the Rapture, Armageddon, etc., I keep an open mind about it all, just as I view other world religions and spiritual belief systems as, what one poster wrote, “like trees, the trunk is the same, but the twigs and leaves are different.” This person also wrote that it’s all BULLSHIT, which I don’t personally believe – though I think all of these many different religions and beliefs are kind of like the Tower of Babel syndrome – one good thing was divided up into a confusing array of things that the people had to sift through in order to understand. When someone tells me that a particular Bible is the word of God, I have to wonder how many human hands have played the telephone line game with that word? You know how the game works – get a line of people standing abreast, whisper a word or phrase in one person’s ear and then have them do the same to the person next to them. By the time you get to the end of the line, you’ll more than likely have a very different outcome.
Again, back to that guy in the middle of nowhere who’s never heard the name “Jesus” and has never seen a Bible – can’t even read. Is this person doomed? I don’t think so. Because without all of the distractions that come with our modern life, they are probably more spiritually aligned than most of us who actually have done some studying on the subject.
Meditating on the essence of God can be as simple as giving thanks for the sunlight that grows the crops that yields the food that nourishes our bodies and keeps us breathing the air. The many names and faces of God that have been given to us, handed down over centuries, we trace them back as far as they can go, and where do they lead us? Always in the hands of men. But these men were divinely inspired, you say, even the very Son of God and with an open mind, I say again that this may all be true. But the litmus test is not that someone else tells you it’s so – it’s that you believe it to be so, as it emanates from within you. We hold these truths to be self-evident – or in another words, “God, Obviously.”
It doesn’t get much simpler than just waking up one day, literally or figuratively and saying, “Oh gee. God. Yes.” And then applying principles to your life accordingly. And no, we don’t always get it right. But God knows our hearts. If we’re in communion with God, there is no hiding the truth of our very nature, our own essence.
One of my favorite books is called Like Buddha, Like Christ – and instead of attempting to prove the differences between Buddhism and Christianity, it shows the parallels between the two beliefs, proving that maybe, at some space in time, they had emerged from the same point of origin. This sort of theorizing doesn’t get me invited to many church parties, but it nevertheless paints a vivid picture of a God without borders, a God who doesn’t play favorites and a God who encourages people to think outside of the box that is our Earth-bound body.
All this to say what? I started off sort of focused and then went traipsing down many paths, as is the standard practice for a sufferer of ADD.
From my view, Christianity isn’t about simply accepting a teaching, narrowing your mind and then considering yourself forgiven and “saved.” It’s a work-in-progress, a becoming, an educational and spiritual adventure that to the dismay of some, will actually lead outside of their safe church sanctuaries and into the big, ominous world of many lands, many languages and many ways of thinking. To me, it seems that the most dangerous kind of Christian is the one who’s not only so assured of salvation that they can get away with murder (or genocide), but also the one who refuses to keep the very simplest of commandments attributed to Jesus. Love one another.
The last time I checked – loving someone didn’t involve blowing them to little bits and damning them to hell.
