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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Just...Breathe...

It was a cloudy, rainy day much like any other spring morning.  He unlocked his car, started it up, and headed off to work.  On the way, he tuned in to his favorite morning talk show host on the radio.  The voice on the radio was a familiar one - one that he had listened to for years.  The dialog (rather, monologue) was as vitriolic as ever, the commentary blustering over the airwaves with the intent of raising the blood pressure of its listeners.  As he drove along, something snapped in his mind and he just couldn't take all of the "liberal media" and the onslaught of the "gay agenda."  He began to sweat, thinking of ways he could help the cause to bring the country back to the God-fearing, Jesus-loving, pew-jumping place to live it supposedly had been.  His blood pressure soared, the frown on his face showed his discontent and disgust.  A car passed him with a bumper sticker that said, "Co-exist," in the form of various religious symbols.  He came completely unhinged, screaming and yelling obscenities that would make even Marylin Manson blush.  He arrived at work and continued about his day, angry and pissed off but he couldn't figure out why...

We have so many messages bombarding us on a daily basis that our minds have collectively reached an overload.  Thousands upon thousands of Americans walk around pissed off - pissed off at something, but they are just not sure as to why.  Social media is filled to overflowing with rants and rhetoric from the "Sky Is Falling Church of the God Squad" that is so off-base and ludicrous that when you read them, you can actually FEEL yourself getting dumber.  

(Just Breathe)

This recent wave of bigotry and hatred masked under the name of "Religious Freedom," is both fascinating and horrifying at the same time.  It's like watching a colonoscopy while tripping on mushrooms.  Look, I am a Christian and not a good one at that.  I do know a few things about theology, but I'm not some Biblical scholar like Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern.  I can find a few references in Scripture about different lifestyles, but the problem is in that of interpretation - not that we all interpret it how we see fit, because that's garbage.  But rather from a sense of grammatical/historical hermeneutics (study of interpretation based on historical reference points and the text of the manuscripts themselves as we know them).  It takes one hell of a lot of hermeneutical gymnastics to get where some of the God Squad is headed.  

(Just Breathe)

Let's just say for a moment that the Perfect Ones are correct in their interpretation.  What does that mean?  They adopt these hard line stances from the Old Testament and allow them to flow into the New Testament without considering the rule of unintended consequences.  The punishments for these lifestyles that supposedly threaten the sanctity of marriage are similar to those who have committed other violations of the Big Ten.  

(Just Breathe)

And they forget that Jesus said, "not one jot nor tittle of the Law will pass away," and it is HE who is the fulfillment of the Law in all its splendor.  HE is the one who went to the Cross and took on the sins of humanity.  Consider these thoughts:

1.  Theocracy:  Anyone in the midst of this so-called "religious rights" movement who tells you that it is not about trying to establish a theocracy is full of it.  Whether it be intentionally or unintentionally, that is the aggregate result.  

2.  Dominion Theology:  Pay close attention to this and don't let it slip by you.  Dominion theology is a theological construct that states that Biblical Christianity will rule all areas of our contemporary society.  Reconstructionism, if you will.  More clearly defined:
Those who hold these views believe that it is the duty of Christians to create a worldwide kingdom patterned after the Mosaic Law. They believe that Christ will not return to earth until such a kingdom has been established. The principal goal, then, of dominion theology and Christian reconstructionism is political and religious domination of the world through the implementation of the moral laws, and subsequent punishments, of the Old Testament (the sacrificial and ceremonial laws having been fulfilled in the New Testament). This is not a government system ruled by the church, but rather a government conformed to the Law of God.

3.  Sharia Shame:  As you consider 1 & 2 above, remember that these politicians are the same ones screaming at the top of their lungs about the supposed incursion of Sharia law in this country.  It's poppycock and it is designed to scare the hell out of you and make you have a knee-jerk reaction and recruit more Christians to run for office - regardless of their qualifications.
 
4.  Quantity, Not Quality:  For the people who are pushing an anti-gay agenda agenda, they vote the
way their pastors or religious leaders tell them to.  They will, of course, deny this but ask them to answer this question - If churches should be allowed to be political, why doesn't the Church pay taxes?  They will become incontinent and accuse you of being Anti-Christ and offer you treatment at the Sally Kern Repent For Jesus Rehabilitation Programming and Kosher Pizzeria.  But the only reference to taxes made to the Church as a whole in the Scriptures is where Jesus told the Pharisees AND his disciples, "render unto Caesar what it Caesar's and render unto God what is God's."  Wow.  Jesus nailed it again.  We have reached a point of complete hysteria on this garbage they call talk radio, the Fox News Channel, and TBN.  The ignorance and completely unsound principles of  Biblical hermeneutics is creating a political society where the logical conclusion will be debtor's prisons, and rehab centers for the "lost."  It's insane.  
 
Fight back, my friends.  It's simple to do.  Just.  Breathe.  Stop for a moment and JUST BREATHE.  And when confronted by these Pharisaical reconstructionists with their overt douchebaggery, encourage them to join you and JUST BREATHE.
 
We are ALL created in the Imago Dei.  Sorry if that pisses off a few of the religious zealots out there.  Y'all just need to remember what His commandment was; "To make disciples," not create Pharisees and develop theocratic governments.
 
This is just my opinion, and I could be wrong...but I absolutely doubt it.