the sins of the father

WWdN reader Chris C. sent me a worthwhile follow-up to my post Seriously. What would Jesus do?

In that post, I said:

I sincerely hope that the Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, The Family Research Council, and the rest of those organizations don't speak for the majority of Christians . . . and I sincerely hope that a lot of Christians will read that article and repudiate what their so-called leaders are suggesting.

Is stopping two people who love each other from getting married really more important than feeding and clothing a family who need help, especially during Winter? What would Jesus do?

There's an op-ed at CNN today, written by Jay Bakker (son of Televangelist shysters Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker) and Marc Brown (not the famous MC Brown of Buzznet, but a member of Bakker's Revolution church) where they address the same thing:

How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? . . . when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today? . . . Regardless of the origin, one thing is crystal clear: It's not what Jesus stood for.

His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.

[. . .]

Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.

It's interesting to me that Jay Bakker, who was raised by televangelists who never met a scam they didn't like, has now founded his own ministry which teaches "unconditional love" for everyone. There's something about the sins of the father here, but I'm having a hard time pulling the words together, so this meta-commentary will have to suffice. You get what I mean though, right?

I'm not religious, and I don't need religion in my daily life, but I completely respect that there are people who derive great peace and meaning from various religious teachings. As a corollary, I also have nothing but contempt for the so-called spiritual leaders who prey upon those people for their own personal financial or political gain. (In this respect, Benny Hinn and James Dobson are on the same rocket to the center of the Sun, when I'm king of the world.)

CNN is running this commentary and associated story because Bakker will be featured in a reality series. As a rule, I hate reality television, but in this case, maybe Jay Bakker can be some sort of anti-Dobson, and show a large audience that religion in general and Christianity specifically doesn't have to be about excluding or controlling people.