WWdN: In Exile

"And we spoke of the things which Steve would endorse, and revile"

It's one of those weeks where all my creative energy and time is going into projects that pay the bills, so posting here will remain light for at least the next few days, and probably a bit longer.

However, this post my friend Cherie wrote about the First Church of the Intergalactic Fruitbat Steve was so funny, I couldn't not link to it.

pirates are absolute divine beings

Oh noes! Teh religious persecutions!!1

Student punished for spaghetti beliefs

A student has been suspended from school in America for coming to class dressed as a pirate. But the disciplinary action has provoked controversy – because the student says that the ban violates his rights, as the pirate costume is part of his religion. Bryan Killian says that he follows the Pastafarian religion, and that as a crucial part of his faith, he must wear 'full pirate regalia' as prescribed in the holy texts of Pastafarianism.

I think this is the first time in the history of the internets that linking an article doesn't really do it justice, so take a moment and enjoy the pictures and serious tone of TFA, which dryly ends with this: "The school, in North Buncombe, North Carolina, remains adamant that their decision to suspend Killian for a day has nothing to do with his
religion, and quite a lot to do with his repeated refusal to heed warnings against wearing pirate outfits."

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.

Seriously. What would Jesus do?

In the discussion of the busy body idiots and their anti-peace sign crusade, a lot of people, myself included, observed that the HOA president and his supporters seemed like right wing whack jobs. This lead others, myself included, to comment on how many right wing whack jobs are also Christianist whack jobs, and there was much piling on.

A lone voice spoke up, and said,

um, may I just quietly say that this HOA president who started this whole mess is not representative of ANY Christians that I know, myself included? My husband and I were just as outraged by that HOA president's reaction to a rather tasteful peace-symbol wreath as everyone else here. And speaking of acceptance, it would be nice if people in general would stop lumping all Christians in with the ultra-right-wing Pat Robertson types out there. Most Christians I know just wish to coexist peacefully with our neighbors, regardless of their differing beliefs.

I have thought a lot about this statement since I read it, because I'm recently guilty of lumping all Christians in with the ultra-right-wing Pat Robertson types out there, but I haven't always been that way. I've always made a concerted effort to truly live and let live, and respect how and what other people who want to worship, but since the rise of the people we call Christianists (those Dominionists who want to force everyone into their narrow and intolerent view of morality, by force if necessary,) I've just gotten religion fatigue. I'd like to think that I'm tolerant and patient and open-minded, but the truth is, I'm so fed up with people trying to make laws and decisions for me and my family that are none of their business, and I'm so fed up with being told that I'm a bad person because I don't subscribe to the same exact narrow views they have, whenever I hear "Christian" or "religion" or "morality" or "values", I just shut down.

This morning, I read this:

The president-elect of the Christian Coalition of America has declined the job, saying the organization wouldn't let him expand its agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, who was scheduled to take over the socially conservative group in January from Roberta Combs, said he had hoped to focus on issues such as poverty and the environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," said Hunter, a senior pastor at Northland Church in Longwood, Fla.

Hunter announced his decision not to take the job during an organization board meeting Nov. 21. A statement issued by the group said Hunter left because of "differences in philosophy and vision." Hunter said he was not asked to leave.

"They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues, that's not our base,"' Hunter said.

   

As recently as two months ago, that would have outraged me, but today, it just made me sad, probably because I'm relaxed a little bit since the election, and the Dominionists won't have a such a grip on Congress.

I realize that the Christian Coalition is really a political group (a huge problem for our country in and of itself) but if I were a Christian, I would be profoundly upset that this huge organization, with such a loud voice at the table and such a significant presence in public life, is declaring that stopping gay marriage and telling women whether or not they can make a deeply personal decision are more important issues -- and more specifically more important Christian issues -- than helping the people among us who have the least and need the most. Even though I'm not religious now, I went to a parochial school, and the way I understood the teachings of Christ, tolerance, charity, and compassion were pretty high up there on his list of ways to be a good person. That's another reason I am so tired of hearing from self-described religious folks that even though I work diligently to live my life according to those principles, I'm a bad person because I believe same-sex couples should be entitled to everything that the rest of us have, and I don't drop to my knees and declare my fealty to George W. Bush.

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 any more than that homeowner's association president does, 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?