The Hypocrisy at the Center of the Christian Right’s Persecution Complex

I write frequently - some might think too frequently - on religion, but in today's politics in America, the Christofascists and their simpering, pander political whores in the Republican Party taint much of the landscape and stand behind so many of the failed policies that harm America in the long run and do injury to so many Americans, be it denial of health care insurance to continued hate and discord based on toxic religious belief.  Despite the harm the do to others, it is the Christofascists who claim that they face persecution.  A piece in Salon looks at the hypocrisy that lies at the center of this persecution myth.  Here are excerpts:

It’s been interesting to witness the public conversation going on among religious conservatives in the wake of the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on same-sex marriage last week. As Derek Penwell, a progressive Christian minister from Kentucky puts it, the gist of it all sounds something like this:

“The time has come to prepare ourselves for persecution. Our identity has put us at odds with the culture, which is now going to do everything in its power to punish us. Our commitment to living authentically is going to cost us — perhaps everything — because we refuse to compromise what we believe to be the truth. The dominant voices in our culture hate us, and will stop at nothing to eliminate us. Our jobs, our families, even our lives are now in jeopardy because of who we are.”

We’re not in a post-Christian culture yet. Not as long as outlets like Fox News and Rush Limbaugh keep reaching millions of viewers, and Congress is nearly 92 percent Christian. Though I believe it will eventually happen, I certainly don’t think it will happen in my lifetime . . . 

This cry of persecution rings hollow, though, because in other areas of life religious conservatives seem to be fine with this kind of dog-eat-dog world.  . . . . religious conservatives should be consistent if they want to be taken seriously. Religious beliefs are part of the marketplace of ideas, and the market is decidedly dog-eat-dog. As Salon writer Matt Pulver describes it: “Mom and pops close, medium-sized firms close, automakers go bankrupt—that’s how capitalism works. That’s what the competitive market makes: a vast, bloody battlefield of losers laid out behind the much fewer winners…Everyone competed and most businesses lost, they closed. That’s the market.”

[I]f you believe that the Judeo-Christian God thinks homosexuals are deviant or disgusting and wants to punish them in this world as well as the next, then you should be shunned. In the marketplace of ideas, when consumers don’t want to buy what a company is selling, they “persecute” them by shunning their product. Society isn’t buying what you’re selling. The fear you feel is a result of your identity being wrapped up in your religious beliefs, so that a public rebuke on them is a rebuke on you. But that just means that now is a time for soul-searching, a time to decide who you want to be in an increasingly pluralistic society.

Religious conservatives have been vilifying gay people in this country for decades. So Christians aren’t in retreat, it’s just that the playing field has come closer to being leveled.

Except we’re not quite there yet, because religious conservatives have gone beyond disparaging the character of homosexuals — they’ve disparaged their rights as human beings, backed by the force of the State. A religious conservative can go on vilifying homosexuals if they want — the government has not taken away that right — but what they can’t do is deny them their equal rights, which in this case is the right to have their marriage recognized as legitimate.  

If you believe homosexuality is a sin, then don’t engage in those acts — don’t be like the many anti-gay “values” politicians who themselves turned out to be gay. I mean, it’s a choice, right? If you believe that having sex before marriage and children out of wedlock are sins, don’t lecture others like Bristol Palin does, and don’t have sex or children before you get married. If you believe pedophilia is a horrific sin, then don’t molest young children (even if they’re your family members) like Josh Duggar did, or that Dennis Hastert is alleged to have done.

The Bible Belt = Obese Porn Watchers

The disconnect between what Christian fundamentalist say and demand of others and what they actually do is once again in sharp display in the results of two new studies.  We hear these "godly folk" constantly shrieking about the evils of pornography and condemning others for sins that are a matter of "choice" - gays, of course are a favorite target on the latter.  Meanwhile, these folks who live in the Bible Belt use more online porn than anywhere else in America and seemingly lack the ability to make the choice to not shovel another fork full of food into their mouths (perhaps they eat while perusing online porn?).  The sin of gluttony is apparently an unknown concept to this falsely pious folk.

As MSN News reports, the most obese states are, with only two exceptions, located in the Bible Belt with Mississippi leading the way in the most obese state for the second year running:

Most people get psyched when they earn a distinction two years in a row, but we’re guessing Mississippi residents aren’t thrilled with this one: According to findings from a new Gallup poll, the state has the highest obesity rate in the nation for the second year running. The poll found that more than 35 percent of Mississippi residents are obese, trumping runner-up West Virginia by nearly a whole percentage point.

Obesity rates have continuously been highest in Southern and Midwestern states and lowest in Western and Northwestern states, per Gallup.

Yep, it's the awful liberal states so decried in the Bible Belt where folks seemingly have enough "personal responsibility" to put down their forks. 

On the issue of pornography, Patheos looks at the results of a new survey that suggests that while the godly folk are sitting in the pews on Sunday, they may actually be planning their next foray into online porn.  Here are highlights:

Religious conservatives in the Bible Belt search for online porn more than anyone else according to a new study published earlier this month.

The new study, published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior and  produced by researchers from Canadian Universities, found that American states with more religious conservatives search more for sexual content on Google.

Researchers used Google Trends to analyze porn searches while linking state level information from Gallup polls asking about religious and political attitudes together with a variety of sex and porn-related search terms.

The following is an excerpt from the study’s Abstract:

(researchers) examined associations between state-level religiosity/conservatism and anonymized interest in searching for sexual content online using Google Trends (which calculates within-state search volumes for search terms). Across two separate years, and controlling for demographic variables, we observed moderate-to-large positive associations between: (1) greater proportions of state-level religiosity and general web searching for sexual content and (2) greater proportions of state-level conservatism and image-specific searching for sex.

[T]he Canadian researchers offer “the paradoxical hypothesis that a greater preponderance of right-leaning ideologies is associated with greater preoccupation with sexual content in private internet activity.”

While one can only speculate as to why there is such a strong connection between the consumption of porn and professed conservative Christian values, multiple reports indicate similar findings concerning the Bible Belt’s apparent voracious appetite for pornography.

The hypocrisy of it all is stunning.  But hypocrisy is, of course a hallmark of fundamentalist Christians.

The Real Threat to Heterosexual Marriage: The Economy and Straight Men

If one listens to the Christofascists and the professional Christians who have made a cottage industry out of demonizing gays, educated single women, and of course, racial minorities, the number one threat to straight marriages is loving same sex couples getting married in civil ceremonies.   Indeed, same sex marriages according to the Christofascists threaten Western Civilization itself.   Interestingly, the Pew Research Center has released the results of a new study that find that the real threats to marriage are (i) the bad economy - which is a result of the GOP policies the Christofascists support - that prevents young men from finding decent, steady jobs, and (ii) a shortage of non-dead beat young men.  The take away is that if the Christofascists truly support the "sanctity of marriage" - which they don't - they would be supporting jobs programs, infrastructure investment, and economic stimulus programs.  A piece in Salon looks at the Pew findings.  Here are excerpts:

In 2012, a record one-in-five Americans 25 or older had never been married, the Pew Research Center reported today. This wasn't surprising, as matrimony has been on a decline for decades now. However, Pew did offer an extremely elegant, two-part illustration of the role economics have played in that process.

Part I: What are America’s young, unmarried women looking for in a mate? A steady job.

Part II: What do young, unmarried men lack? Steady jobs. For every 100 never married women between the ages of 25 and 34, there are just 91 employed and never-married men the same age. Where once America had a surplus of working single men, now it has a shortage.

A dearth of eligible bachelors isn't the only reason marriage has been on the wane. Young people are getting married later in part because they spend more time in school. Back in the day, couples got hitched, then got settled financially; today, they prefer to get their finances in line first. Oh, and then there's birth control, changing social mores about sex out of marriage, etc.

But economics are an obvious and unavoidable dimension of the issue. That's why it's far-fetched to think we can revive the institution of marriage in a meaningful way without addressing the underlying forces that have left young men in such shabby financial shape.  

 Despite these realities, don't expect the Christofascists to change their politics or cease demonizing gays.  The real threat that gays - and our increasing acceptance in society - is that we make it harder and harder for Christofascists to continue to cling to their myth based religious beliefs.  For those afraid of thinking for themselves, nothing is more terrifying than facing the reality that much - if not most - of the Bible is fiction.   Adam and Eve never existed, so get over it!!

Sarah Palin - Proof of the GOP's Moral Bankruptcy and Hypocrisy

By now many readers may have heard about the brawl that took place at a house party in South Anchorage, Alaska, involving Sarah Palin and her white trash family.   Yes, white trash.  Decent, quality, educated people don't engage in drunken physical brawls.  How anyone with half a brain can deem Sarah Palin as a role model or a candidate for even a job as dog catcher is mind numbing.  Yet, many in the GOP base continue to idolize this foul, self-aggrandizing nut case.  Some of these fools even thinks she's attractive (God knows why based on the photo above!).  A piece in The Daily Mail looks at the real Sarah Palin and her latest exhibition of her lunacy.  Here are excerpts:

Sarah Palin was photographed sweaty and make-up free [and wedding ring free] as she ran errands around Anchorage, Alaska on Monday - marking the first time she's been seen in public since a violent family fight this weekend. 

A fight allegedly broke out at a house party most of the Palin family was attending on Saturday night in south Anchorage, when daughter Willow's ex-boyfriend Connor Cleary tried to get in a Hummer limousine after engaging in some unspecified 'questionable behavior'. 

Sarah's eldest son Track left the fight with four broken ribs and husband Todd suffered a bloody nose.

RealClearPolitics spoke with a source close to the Palin family, who wanted to provide their version of the events in question. 

The source said oldest son Track, 25, soon found himself struggling against four men who had 'piled on him'.

That was when father Todd Palin - who was celebrating his 50th birthday that night, although it was not his party- became involved.

Partygoer Eric Thompson told Good Morning America: 'I heard Sarah Palin scream out, 'You know who we are, don't you?''

The former vice presidential candidate has yet to publicly comment on the brawl. 

On Monday, she left a shopping mall dressed casually, and without wearing her wedding ring.

 

One report suggested host Korey Klingenmeyer was allegedly punched in the face seven times by Bristol when he politely asked her to leave the party. 

Another report claimed that Willow and Bristol apparently tried to go after the mother of Willow's ex-boyfriend.

The fight involved 'roughly 20 people' and alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the incident, which took place around 11pm on Saturday night, The Anchorage Police Department said. 

'Anchorage police responded to a report of a verbal and physical altercation taking place between multiple subjects outside of a residence,' police spokesperson Jennifer Castro told Alaska Dispatch News. 

Although none of the parties wanted to press charges at the time of the incident, police confirmed that the case is still an active investigation and is being reviewed by APD and the Municipal Prosecutors Office. 

Virginia Senate Votes to Repeal Forced Ultrsound Bill; Bill Likely to Die in GOP House of Delegates

Virginia's forced ultrasound law earned now indicted Governor Bob McDonnell the nickname "Governor Ultrasound" and made Virginia look like a laughing stock on late night talk shows.  Today, a bill patroned by Mamie Locke, my state senator who gave the boyfriend and me a big hug when we met with her on EV's Day of Action last month, passed the Virginia Senate that would repeal last year's law which sought to override the decisions of physicians with the mandates of Republican members of the Virginia General Assembly beholden to the religious extremists at The Family Foundation.  Sadly, the bill will likely be killed in the GOP controlled House of Delegates which, when not devising ways to stigmatize and marginalize LGBT Virginians or to disenfranchise minority voters, wants to control women's wombs.  First this on point commentary from Blue Virginia:

This afternoon, the Virginia Senate passed a bill to repeal the mandatory ultrasound requirement that Republicans passed in 2012. Senate Democrats provided 19 of the 20 votes which produced a tie, broken by Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.

SB 617, patroned by Senator Mamie Locke (D – Hampton), would repeal themandatory ultrasound requirement that Republicans passed in 2012. Under that law, women seeking an abortion must submit to an abdominal ultrasound — regardless of their wishes, and regardless of the wishes of their doctors.

“Let’s call the ultrasound mandate what it really is: a measure to shame, judge, and delay a woman’s access to the health care she seeks,” said Sen. Locke. “The state should not meddle in what ought to be a personal, private decision between a woman, her family, her faith, and her doctor. I am encouraged that members of the Senate saw the value in repealing this law. This is a great victory for the women of Virginia.”

“We need to think about the rights of individuals: of women, men and all of us. Because when one group us has their rights threatened, we all have our rights threatened,” said Sen. Favola (D-Arlington). "I'm glad my colleagues agreed and voted to protect women's rights."

“When an ultrasound is necessary, a doctor knows. There's no one on the floor, with the exception of the lieutenant governor, who's qualified to practice medicine,” saidSen. Ebbin (D-Alexandria). “This bill can be broken down to seven words: let doctors decide how to practice medicine.”

“The question of what is medically necessary should be decided by a physician, not by the General Assembly,” added Sen. Edwards (D-Roanoke). “Let's not practice medicine. Lets not have the hubris or the arrogance to tell physicians what they should do.”

Unfortunately, as the Richmond Times Dispatch notes, the bill is likely to be killed in the House of Delegates where Republicans who make tawdry whores look virtuous by comparison will do the bidding of The Family Foundation.  Here are excerpts:

The Senate vote for repeal is largely symbolic. Republicans hold two-thirds of the votes in the House of Delegates, which already has rejected bills to scrap the ultrasound requirement.

Abortion-rights advocates praised the bill's passage.

“We are absolutely thrilled to see the Virginia Senate take a strong stance for women’s health and rights and vote to pass this critical bill,” said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. “Virginia’s current mandatory ultrasound law is a gross invasion of women’s personal privacy and the doctor patient relationship.”

The GOP-dominated House of Delegates is expected to kill the Senate bill in subcommittee, preventing it from ever reaching Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who supports repeal.

I personally believe that abortion should be safe and rare.  Common sense and scientifically based sex education could go a long way toward reducing the number of abortions not only in Virginia but nationwide.  However, ever effort to provide such reality based sex education is opposed by, you guessed it, The Family Foundation.  These foul hypocrites do not want abortions to occur, but block measures that would make abortion less prevalent.

The GOP's War on the Poorest Americans

It's Christmas Day and once again I am struck by the rank hypocrisy of conservatives and their flunkies in the Republican Party who blather about honoring Christian principles and repeat the myth that America was founded as a "Christian nation" even as they espouse policies that are the antithesis of the Gospel message.  Indeed, they make the Pharisees of the Bible look like upstanding, kindly folks in comparison.  It is little wonder that 1/3 of the generations under age 30 - the so-called "Nones" - have walked away from institutional religion.  Simply put, these "godly Christians" are horrible, heartless, selfish people.  Why would anyone decent want to subscribe to their claimed beliefs which they disregard daily.  An editorial in the New York Times looks at the GOP's war on the poor - a war that the Christofascists support.  Here are excerpts:

This is a harsh season for Americans struggling to afford food. Last month, the long lines at food pantries across the country grew longer with the expiration of the boost to food stamp benefit levels included in the 2009 economic stimulus plan. Those lines are apt to grow even longer thanks to the refusal of House Republicans to renew extended unemployment benefits as part of the recent budget deal. 

And if that isn’t sufficient pain for the neediest, Congress is getting ready to make another big cut to nutrition aid when it returns in early January. 

Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat of Michigan and the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Representative Frank Lucas, a Republican of Oklahoma who leads the House Agriculture Committee, are close to a deal on a farm bill that is said to include an increase in crop insurance subsidies for farmers and a more than $8 billion cut in food stamp benefits for the poor over the next 10 years. 

That cut, about double the one contained in the Senate version of the farm bill, is more modest than the devastating $40 billion reduction in the farm bill passed by House Republicans that would have denied benefits to about 3.8 million people in 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Still, the compromise deal, driven by the Republican obsession with cutting the food stamps program, will leave many Americans worse off than before. 

The deal being finalized would not kick people off the rolls, but it would end a practice used in some 16 states to boost food stamp benefits. That change would reduce benefits for 850,000 of the nation’s poorest households, according the Congressional Budget Office, with the cut falling particularly hard on seniors, disabled people and working-poor families with children. 

The households affected currently receive higher food stamp benefits (on average around $90 a month) under a practice known as “heat-and-eat,” which is intended to prevent poor families from having to choose between heating fuel and food.

Some Democratic lawmakers and antihunger advocates say the $8 billion cut being contemplated in the compromise deal is necessary to get the food stamps program reauthorized by both the Senate and House and that keeping the cuts to that level would be a political defeat for right-wing Republicans, who sought to do much more damage. That may be true, but it’s not much consolation for people lining up at food pantries because their inadequate monthly food stamps allotment has run out. 

Hate Group: Boycott Betty Crocker

Tony Perkins - the KKK affiliated leader of registered hate group Family Research Council - has his panties in a wad and is calling on godly Christofascists to boycott Betty Crocker products in particular and General Mills products in general.  Why?  Because the company has been supportive of gay marriage and recognizes that a majority of Americans now support marriage equality.  Of course, the idea of a Christofascist boycott is a farce.  When faced with a boycott orchestrated by American Family Association, another registered hate group, Starbucks' saw its profits increase significantly.  I for one will make a point of buying General Mills products.  Here's a sampling of Perkins' spittle flecked caterwalling:

At Betty Crocker, the only thing they're mixing up is their priorities. Hi, I'm Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. If you ask conservatives, Betty Crocker's latest promotion is a recipe for disaster. This summer, the famous dessert line decided to jump on the same-sex "marriage" bandwagon-and bring cakes to celebrate. In Minnesota, where parent company General Mills is headquartered, Betty Crocker decided to donate wedding cakes to the first homosexual couples who exchanged vows on the first day that counterfeit marriage was legal. "Betty celebrates all families," said manager Laura Forero. "We don't want to be old fashioned," the company explained. Unfortunately for General Mills, the majority of Americans think natural marriage is anything but old fashioned. And they've made it tough on companies like Target, Starbucks, and JC Penney who disagree. Know where your money is going. When you're at the store, think outside the Betty Crocker box! For a full list of products that are undermining marriage, check out DumpGeneralMills.com. 

The irony, of course, is that Christofascists like Perkins have a conniption fit when LGBT groups call for boycotts of anti-gay companies.  Joe Jervis sums up the hypocrisy well:

When anti-gay Christianist hate groups call for nationwide boycotts of LGBT-friendly companies, that is a righteous use of the free market in order to preserve morality, marriage, family, and The American Way. But when GAY groups use or threaten the use of a boycott, THAT is homofascist intimidation, intolerance, bullying, and a "mafia-style" attempt to deny the freedom of speech. (Hello, Oregon!) Just so we're clear.

My contempt for the "conservative Christian" crowd grows more every day.

North Carolina Teacher Suspended for Showing Class "Same Love" Video

North Carolina continues its descent into batshitery by embracing Christofascist dogma and drawing negative national publicity to itself.  Indeed, since the Republicans took control of the state's government, it appears that everything possible is being done to convince modern, progressive businesses that North Carolina is to be avoided like the plague.  The latest story to underscore that North Carolina has become a state where hate and bigotry flourish involves the suspension of a middle school teacher who a class Macklemore's "Same Love" video.  As if many of the little darlings haven't already heard the song - its even been number 1 on local pop stations in backwards Hampton Roads - or seen the video.  The Charlotte Observer looks at the Inquisition like behavior of the school administration.  Here are excerpts:

A Taylorsville teacher has been suspended for showing a group of students a music video for a song that supports same-sex marriage. 

The video in question is for the song “Same Love,” the fourth single released by Seattle rap artist Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis.

It’s the first song that promotes gay marriage to make it into the Top 40, according to gay rights advocates. It was ranked 13th this week.

Alexander County Schools Associate Superintendent Jeff Peal told the Taylorsville Times: “At West Alexander Middle School, there was an inappropriate video shown in class, outside the bounds of the curriculum that called for disciplinary action last week.”

Peal didn’t name the teacher in the article.

The video goes through the life of a gay man and includes images of him kissing his boyfriend, getting married and lying motionless in a hospital bed while holding his partner’s hand. 

The video has been viewed nearly 78 million times on Youtube, and was featured as part of the website’s Pride Week. 

God forbid that youth realize that gays not only exist, but that we have loves and families just like everyone else.   Oh, and the cynical part of me can't help but wonder whether Superintendent Jeff Peal is one of the "godly folk" in the Bible Belt who loves his Internet porn. 

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/09/11/4306014/teacher-suspended-for-showing.html#.UjEU-BYgrAY#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/09/11/4306014/teacher-suspended-for-showing.html#.UjEU-BYgrAY#storylink=cpy

Bible Belt Again Tops Nation in Internet Porn Use

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The Real Sins of Sodom and Gomorrah - An Indictment of the Far Right

This blog often looks at what I deem to be hypocrites and hypocrisy.  It's something that makes it impossible to not talk about the Republican Party, the Christofascists and those who strut about with religion on their sleeves.  Especially those who incessantly condemn gays by grasping a few selective Bible passages and then twisting them to condemn others.  A piece in Formerly Fundie looks at the hypocrisy of too many Americans and points out that the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah really applies to them, not necessarily gays.  The author is kinder than I am because he fails to specifically target the far right Republicans and the Christofascists/Tea Party.   But what he describes is them, plain and simple.  Here are highlights from the post that is dead on target:

On election day in 2012, I received an e-mail from someone who had been my friend for 16 years. He had been growing dismayed with the changes I went through during my 4 years at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, especially my new-found passion for biblical social justice, my advocacy for the poor, and my defense of immigrants. Having spent years wrestling with scripture at seminary and working that out within the context of a community of believers, I broke with conservative politics for the first time in my life, and voted to re-elect Barack Obama. This, clearly, was the last straw in what I thought was a life-long friendship.

His reference of “sins so grave”, was the sin of “sodomy”, which he claims Obama is guilty of (via his support of Gay Marriage). This caused me to realize that in American Christianity, we have completely lost sight of the biblical sin of sodomy– which in the Bible, had a completely different meaning than what it does now.

[T]he most direct reference regarding the sin of Sodom in the Bible,  is what helps us no longer view this story as being about someone else:

Ezekiel 16

⁴⁹ “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”

Here we have it…

Sodom was arrogant.

Sodom was overfed.

Sodom was unconcerned for the poor and needy.

Sodom was disdainfully proud (haughty).

Am I saying that the sins of Sodom are absent sexual immorality? Certainly not. Please don’t misread this post. The point of this article is that too often, we find a story of sin and judgment and find a way to make it about them when really it includes us.

The story of Sodom, includes us. Their sins are our sins.

We are arrogant and haughty.

We don’t like the word arrogant, so instead we use a term called “American Exceptionalism” to express how different and special we are. ² During the Presidential Elections, I was disgusted by the nationalistic arrogance expressed by both candidates. I cringed as I heard President Obama say that “America is the greatest country on earth”, and wanted to yell “heretic” when I heard Romney say that America was “the hope of the earth.” ³

As a world traveler, I learned early on that Americans are perceived as “rich, loud, and proud” by the rest of the world, and this is not an unwarranted stereotype.

We are overfed.

While 870 million people go hungry in the world and early 5 million children die every year due to malnutrition, America throws nearly half our food in the trash.

We have more food than we know what to do with, so we toss it away at a rate of 400lbs per person, per year.

We live in the country of “bigger and better” while 1 of 4 children in the world is stunted due to lack of healthy food.

We are unconcerned for the poor and needy.

This isn’t to say that we’re not concerned at all; I know a lot of Americans who do great things for the poor and needy among us and around the world.

However, as a culture, we are not nearly as concerned as we should be and far too many of us are concerned only for ourselves. Just look at the cultural shift which has occurred in our nation in the past few years with the birth of the Tea Party– a party who’s basic platform is: “leave me alone and get your damn hands off my money”. As Americans, we want what is ours. We are intoxicated with protecting our money and our “rights.” While the rest of the world is living on dollars a day, eating two bowls of rice and having to drink water tainted with human feces, we’re concerned with making sure that our pizza arrives hot enough, that we get a great parking spot at the mall, and advocating to ensure we don’t have to wait for a background check before we buy our assault weapons.

We fight against ensuring the poorest among us have access to healthcare, so that we can keep more of what’s “ours”.

As I write this, the US House of Representatives is pending a vote to cut $20 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which would put nearly 2 million people off a program designed to help them out of poverty. Meanwhile, we have no problem with runaway military budgets, over-the-top executive salaries, unscrupulous lending practices, and tax reductions which tend to benefit the wealthy.

We might not all be unconcerned, but a good portion of American culture is unconcerned– just like Sodom.

It's no coincidence that the cult of American exceptionalism, obesity and poverty combined with a lack of social programs/safety nets tend to be the worse in the Bible Belt.

 

On election day in 2012, I received an e-mail from someone who had been my friend for 16 years. He had been growing dismayed with the changes I went through during my 4 years at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, especially my new-found passion for biblical social justice, my advocacy for the poor, and my defense of immigrants. Having spent years wrestling with scripture at seminary and working that out within the context of a community of believers, I broke with conservative politics for the first time in my life, and voted to re-elect Barack Obama. This, clearly, was the last straw in what I thought was a life-long friendship. - See more at: http://www.formerlyfundie.com/sodom-gomorrah-a-story-about-us-and-not-for-the-reasons-you-think/#sthash.llhDOYlL.G6xSp2iq.dpuf

On election day in 2012, I received an e-mail from someone who had been my friend for 16 years. He had been growing dismayed with the changes I went through during my 4 years at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, especially my new-found passion for biblical social justice, my advocacy for the poor, and my defense of immigrants. Having spent years wrestling with scripture at seminary and working that out within the context of a community of believers, I broke with conservative politics for the first time in my life, and voted to re-elect Barack Obama. This, clearly, was the last straw in what I thought was a life-long friendship. - See more at: http://www.formerlyfundie.com/sodom-gomorrah-a-story-about-us-and-not-for-the-reasons-you-think/#sthash.llhDOYlL.G6xSp2iq.dpuf