America. A Christian Nation?

   A few weeks ago, I had started collecting biblical material based on things which Jesus said or had done. I was in the midst of  comparing Jesus’s teachings and mode of living to what the so-called conservative – Christians,  Tea Baggers Party, and Republicans in general preached and actually practiced. As I have stated in the past, you cannot be a conservative and a Christian. The two do not mix.

    Anyway, in between my trip to the hospital and other issues over the past few weeks, one Tom Ehrich of the Religion News Service came up with an article published in the Sunday newspapers which runs basically along the lines of what I was researching. the only difference is that his article looks at America as a whole, not just one segment.

So You Want America To Be A Christian Nation? Really?

By TOM EHRICH

GateHouse News Service

Posted Sep 30, 2011 @ 10:30 PM

What if America truly were a Christian nation? Not a Southern Baptist nation, or an Episcopal nation, or a Roman Catholic
nation. Not grounded in the doctrinal and ecclesiastical isms that have grown up over the centuries. But a Christian nation, doing what Jesus did.

Well, we wouldn't be arguing about sex, that's for sure. Jesus devoted no time to matters of sexuality.

We wouldn't be leading cheers for any particular economic system, capitalist or socialist, for in his many teachings about wealth and power, Jesus saw both as snares and delusions.

We wouldn't be taking votes on who gets medical care, or who gets to live, or who gets to learn, or whose rights matter more, or whose race or religion can't be allowed to breathe freely. For Jesus gave healing to all who asked, defended the lives of sinners, taught all who were eager to learn, welcomed all to his circle - even outcasts, lepers and children. He had no regard for his own tradition's finely tuned boundaries.

We wouldn't be loading great wealth onto the already wealthy, but rather would be asking them to follow the lead of biblical tax collector Zacchaeus and to give away half of what they have.

We wouldn't need as many lawyers, because generosity would trump
tax-reduction strategies, parables would trump rules, property would be shared as needed and people would be forgiving - not suing - each other.

If we were a genuinely Christian nation, we would be gathering the harvest of this abundant land and sharing it with the hungry of our own land and of many lands. We would forgive our enemies, speak truth to power and go forth to serve and to sacrifice, not to rule.

We would stand with the poor when predators circled around them. We would stand with sinners when the self-righteous picked up stones. We would join hands with nonconformists and strangers.

We would become God's beacon to the nations. And when the tired and poor followed that light to our borders, we would greet them with open arms and make room for them in our communities.

That's what Jesus did, and that is what it would mean to be a Christian nation.

So to those who insist that America be a Christian nation, I ask: Is this truly what you want? Do you want the I-was-hungry-and-you-gave-me-something-to-eat of Matthew 25? Do you want the
Sermon on the Mount? Do you want to shine God's light in the darkness?

Your behavior says no.

Your shouts against generosity say no.

Your penchant for oppressive culture says no.

Your willingness to shower wealth on the few while the many suffer says no.

Your hostility to freedom says no.

So stop pretending. At least be as honest as the hedge fund manager who paid himself $8 billion last year. It's "all about the Benjamins," not the Gospel. It's about stifling any freedom but your own. It's about imposing your cultural preferences on others. It's about turning your fears and appetites into law. It's about you, not about Jesus Christ.

That's the nature of politics, of course: one "you" versus another "you."
That's fine, and it's why we formed a democracy, so that our various interests could compete fairly. Just spare us the religious posturing.

If America became a Christian nation, doing what Jesus did, you would be aghast.

Tom Ehrich is an Episcopal priest, author and former Wall Street Journal reporter living in Winston-Salem, N.C

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Friday Funnies: WTF? Late Edition

   People, the past few weeks have been a nightmare for me, this week especially. Today has been the worst! Just when one thinks that it cannot get any worse, it does. At 5 pm, the time I usually post these funnies, my fridge died of a massive stroke. Always on a Friday, isn’t it?  Just stocked the darn thing an hour before!

    On top of all of that,  I’ve missed all of the weeks political happenings because I was stuck in a hospital since last Sunday, not to mention that my blogging software needed medical attention of its own.

   You can probably use a laugh or 2 just as much as I can, so here it goes.

David Letterman's "Top Ten Ways The Country Would Be Different If Chris Christie Were President"

10. Al-Qaida taunts America with 'Your president's so fat' jokes
9. Goodbye White House vegetable garden
8. Cabinet will now have a Secretary of Cake
7. New state: Fatbuttachusetts
6. Congress does whatever he wants, because fat guys are, like, super-strong when they freak out
5. Presidential retreat moved from Camp David to Hershey Park
4. Taxpayers would have to pay for the president's second seat on Air Force One
3. New national anthem: the 'Chili's baby back ribs' song
2. Instead of Iraq, we'd invade IHOP
1. Scandal when president is caught in Oval Office with Betty Crocker and Sara Lee

David Letterman: "Republicans are having trouble luring Gov. Chris Christie into the presidential race. They should try pie."

"The two American hikers have been released from Iran and they're trying to reintroduce them to American culture. Right now, they're in a screening room outside of Washington, going through Jennifer Aniston comedies."

"Rick Perry did so badly at the last debate, that President Obama turned to Michelle and said, 'Honey, you can stop packing.'

on Stewart to the GOP base: You want to add another candidate? It's like the Republican primary is a season of 'American Idol' in reverse, where every week you just add some new idiot… Have you ever considered the possibility that your candidates aren’t the problem — it's you?

Bill Maher: "Did you see the Republican debate last night? It was brought to you by FOX and Google. I think that makes sense that they were working together because Google is what people go to, to fact check the bullshit that comes out of FOX."

"If you're keeping score at home, they have now applauded executions at the Republican debate, they have cheered letting an uninsured man die, and they booed an active duty U.S. serviceman for being gay. I don’t know how you get to the right with this crowd but Ron Paul’s new campaign ad is just the Rodney King beating to the sound of children laughing."

"You gotta love Sarah Palin. She is now on her website asking her idiot fan base for donations for her to help make a decision about whether or not to run. She wants money now for just thinking? What a grifter."

Daily Show Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore: "I voted for Obama because he was black, not because I agreed with him. I barely agreed with him that he was black."

Jay Leno: "President Obama is criticizing Rick Perry for denying global warming. Can understand why Rick Perry doesn't take global warming seriously. As governor of Texas, he's probably fried more people than global warming all put together."

The last Republican debate was sponsored by Google. I think Google can really help. We should run a Google search for some better candidates."

"President Obama claims his new jobs bill will be better than his old jobs bill, which only created one job that went to a guy named Bill."

"Herman Cain won the Republican straw poll in Florida. Cain has had more wins in Florida this year than the Miami Dolphins."

Conan O'Brien: "Obama was heckled by someone who said, 'Don't forget about medical marijuana.' The Secret Service has narrowed the suspects down to everyone in L.A.

"Hallmark has launched a line of recession-themed cards that say, 'Sorry you lost your job.' The good news is, the cards come pre-addressed to your congressman."

Technorati Tags: Politics,Political Humor,Jokes,Jay Leno,David Letterman,Late-Night Talk,Current Events,Sarah Palin,Rick Perry,Republicans,Fox News,Google