by Shawn S. Grandstaff
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
August 18, 2009
With all the political rhetoric that we hear today and the high-jacking of pure Christianity, which is saturated with the Love of God, not judgment, I may come off a little strong at times with some righteous indignation. Reason being, the so-called educated elites on both sides are trying to run everything by defining what they think civilized life is when they’re not too civilized themselves. Meanwhile, American Christianity has turned the church into a fast-food chain with a drive-thru for Jesus because it’s been created by corporations. My desire is that you will hear my heart. I really can’t express that enough. The words you’re about to read are not just ranting and raving from some angry individual, but heartfelt passion for humanity, those who are starving and have AIDS and have no other way to live but that which has been set before them; the ones we know or at least act like we know, but honestly, it seems we have forgotten and left behind; I’m speaking of the world, the one for which Jesus died. The main reason for the world’s situation is due in large part to the oppressive system that Jesus has set us free from. We must quit using certain misinterpreted Scriptures to justify why we don’t help and just begin to see whether it is their fault from some past generational curse (which is always the copout for not being involved) or if it’s really an oppressive system, the kingdom of this world that is causing hell on earth.
For the record, it is mostly about the mad consequences that the religious right and the extreme left have created from their misinterpretations of the Gospel that is giving the name above every name, Jesus, a bad rap. So this is a rebuttal against the weak arguments that they have amongst each other, and I am challenging them to a duel. Because of their political rhetoric, they are causing Christians to play the game of “whose side are we on”; meanwhile, we’re not moving forward, but digressing. I believe if we look deep inside ourselves and listen to the cries of the world, we could see how we are missing it by them exposing our hypocrisies. But at times, unfortunately, we’ve been too blind to see and too deaf to hear and already believe we have all the truth in our pocket. I’m not saying this to condemn believers or unbelievers, because I believe most people want to understand and know God but have been fed a bunch of lies. I don’t blame them. Maybe some Americans don’t want our American Christianity (which is shallow), and in this country that is all right because they are free to believe what they want; therefore, we cannot judge them because it’s not our right. I will get in to that much deeper later.
Through history we shall see that our fighting to bring “America back to God” is a joke, because, honestly, there is no depth to that thinking when the truth is, and we must understand, that we should be bringing the church back to the words of Jesus. As the church, we have so much to offer and contribute in helping around the world that it would be stupid not to work together for the big scheme of things, which is life. With no church growth—all around the world—and attendance on the decline, we must ask ourselves some heartfelt questions and maybe consider every now and again that we might be wrong. By doing so, I believe we will see the problem is not necessarily in our leading, because we are leading, but, unfortunately, we’re leading in the wrong direction and in the end we will eventually bring to pass our horrible predictions of the future instead of fighting for people who are suffering now. I’m not talking solely about individual suffering in our puny lives, but suffering on a global scale. We need to deal with our individual issues (sins), which I believe will be dealt with, but by letting God’s love heal mankind through the body of Christ.
If we can turn down the message of God’s judgment to mankind by turning up God’s message of love, which is through Christ, I believe, according to the New Testament (which is written to the Jews and Gentiles), we would see the Kingdom of God manifest itself now. If we are going to continue to preach judgment and doomsday, we better start with ourselves to ensure we’re going in the right direction as a whole for mankind, or are we the ones who would be left behind? It’s a little shocking when we reverse the script, but when we do, we can begin to see that maybe we’ve missed the point. In other words, by watching the propagators of the left-behind theory and how they’re going about preaching their end-times ideology, we shall see that they might be the ones who are left behind. They are taking Scriptures out of context and putting them together with other Scriptures in order to paint a picture of what they believe the end times will look like.
Excerpt from the preface, I’m Tired Of Being A Hypocrite, By Shawn Grandstaff (c)
from the archives:
I’m Tired of Being a Hypocrite by Shawn S. Grandstaff
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If the church did what the gospel is we wouldn’t need big brother. The church should be socialist without judgment of others while getting over it’s petty ideological differences. These red herrings the government propaganda feeds and the church’s division over them would no longer be an issue. However, the struggle of ego and pride can be hard to overcome due to being so caught up in the system and conforming to it’s ways. And now we can’t see the light from the darkness. My opinion anyway.
What or who is the worst?
First I will say that I’m neither an Obama fan, nor democrat or republican, but still I support this black man as the president of this great nation, why? Precisely because he is black and I’m not and because I can see and feel racism all over the attacks that are being focused on him; these not coming only from whites but even from blacks and all the other races as well.
America needs to face racism, which exist in our mist and is not only black vs white. We need to get over it first, as the main issue toward a future of peace
and real progress, if such a thing is still possible.
The election of this black man gave the Nation this chance.
But if we cannot pass this test that our own history, as the multicultural society that we are, is presenting to us, and because intolerance from the
different sides involved on this event we happen to get into trickery and violence against each other, we’ll suffer it in a way that we’ll regret latter our lack of vision and understanding of what the United States of America really represent in the world as a Nation under God.
It is time that we all understand what freedom, liberty, justice and peace are and why they are entitle by God to every individual in every race and culture of the world. If the USA cannot deal with this issue in its internal social life, how can we justify our actions promoting those rights into other countries?
Now, talking now about politics and economy. If we call Obama and some Democrats: Marxists, just because they are talking about redistributions of wealth to balance the finances of the middle class and the poor, should we call republicans: National Socialist or Nazis when they talk about spying on Americans in order to protect national security?
Who are the worst the Marxists or the Nazis? What about the Islamic fundamentalist or the Christian fundamentalist, or the Atheist fundamentalist?
Some deny God plainly and the others corrupt and twist God’s message for personal gain. Who is the worst?
The Marxists will impose a dictator ship of the intellectual atheist in “representation” of the proletarians. And the Nazis will impose a
dictator ship representing national security and the financial strength of the corporations in detriment of the general population; all of that wrapped under
an ideology of race supremacy and twisted spiritual principles. Who is the worst?
America so far and thanks to God is still away from those ideological monstrosities stablished as governments, but is getting close to that. If intolerance, ignorance, selfishness, pride and a pure lack of care and vision keep dragging the whole Nation toward them and if we fall for any of those,
we’ll be finished as the Nation under the real God of justice, peace and love that we all, or almost all, say we believe we are and care for.
Let us stop the ideological none sense to take the real path of civilized people or Nations which is: That we are not individualities acting alone in life and that everybody’s life and desires count and have to be respected and kept under principles that are proper to the whole of the country as a society and as
a Nation, where each individual is free and protected in order to achieve, as individual, anything that will give him/her a sense of fulfillment and that will be of profit and also of good for the rest of the community.
May God bless us all in Jesus Christ, with understanding and charity toward each other.
Another great article, Lo. It is amazing to me the ignorance and hate that spews from the pulpit increasingly often. I was raised in the church but it was different 45 years ago. We were taught love, compassion, as you do to the least of my brethern…One Sunday morning probably 5 years ago my hubby had on Dr. James Kennedy. He was preaching loyalty to our elected leaders and I was like Oh Bullshit! That was the last time a tv evangelist was on in our house. I’ve been talking myself blue in the face to some of my fundy family. If we believe a higher power created everyone and everything how can we look at those who call God and the bible by a different name wrong? Christinan, Muslim, Hindu, Pastafarians! I decided to be a Unitarian Universalist, we are all one people living on one planet and we better figure out how to get along.
Thanks Lo for posting. You are a very kind and generous person.
Hay rocket and wickle, thanks for reading. I feel the same wickle and rocket. Rocket, i hear ya but there is a very fine line when it comes to politics and Christianity. But i do love the point you made about Jesus being the anti-leader leader and fighting social injustice. That is the gospel.
as a christian myself i have been dueling this for 35 years . it is just getting worse . what people dont understand is that Jesus is THE anti-leader leader. there was not a political bone in his body , and as God He came incognito so that the kingdom could live within us.
having said that , let me say this : getting involved in politics can be important for a christian . why ? because we are told to be peacemakers , and if we can move the process of social justice along in government it can reduce violence and hopefully stop a bloody revolution in this land.
Amen!
Speaking as a Christian, I am SICK of the way Christ is being used in political circles these days. I’ll have to check out that book. Thanks for the tip!