Much is made of the influence and importance of Christianity in America. Christianity is America's most popular religion. The U.S. President openly professes to personally communicate with and receive guidance from the Christian God. "Christian Conservative" is a dominant moniker in the Republican majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress, in the Presidency and in the Supreme Court. Most Democratic representatives are Christian. The Christian "Moral Majority" is a powerful authority in the political machinery of this country. Christian ministries are openly advocating political positions and directions in the U.S. and supporting our current government's actions and behaviors. Christianity is the dominant religion in America.
How is it then that so much of what we as a nation are saying, doing and being is absolutely contrary to and irreconcilable with the basic teachings of Jesus Christ?
The teachings of Jesus can be boiled down to one word: "LOVE." Individuals and societies should be guided and governed through a state of love - love for self, love for family, love for friends, love for neighbors, love for environment, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... Jesus said we should even love our enemies if we are to gain entry into heaven.
Why then are Americans, as a nation and a people, so selfish, mean-spirited and hateful in our dealings with anyone other than wealthy and powerful individuals and interests?
Ask yourself, as a Christian, or a Jew, or a Hindu, or a Muslim - Ask yourself as any form of sentient human being, how we can ethically or morally condone or conduct torture against any human being? That behavior could not be more fundamentally against the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. Love and torture are utterly incompatible.
How can we, in the name of love, justify kidnapping and/or killing and/or imprisoning any human being, without ever accusing them of a crime, giving them an opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law, or in some cases even disclosing to their loved ones what has happened to them?
How can we stand by and do almost nothing as a hurricane destroys one of our most beloved cities - and thousands and thousands of lives and loves and dreams?
How is it possible, if we are acting as Christians, in the name of love, that we are quite possibly now the most hated country and people on earth?
Following are two famous quotes from the Bible that synthesize the teachings of Jesus Christ: "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself", and, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
How can we be consumed and obsessed with material acquisition, power, possession and influence over others and still love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength? We can't. We are violating the teachings of Christ by putting other things before God.
Surely, we wouldn't have others do unto us what we actively are doing to others in the world? We have built false evidence to justify false claims under which we have waged illegal war against a people who have done us no harm. We have caused our own people to murder tens of thousands of people, and we have created conditions responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of others.
We are illegally abducting citizens of other countries in other countries, holding them indefinitely without charges and condoning and conducting torture upon them. We are conspiring and manipulating power and relationships to cause others to commit murder and oppress others. I really hope nobody does that unto me.
There are only 10 rules in the Bible (the Fundamental Religious Document of Christianity) and in the Old Testament (a Fundamental Religious Document of Judaism) alleged to have been written directly by God. Those are the Ten Commandments.
One of those commandments reads: "Thou shall not kill." There is no ambiguity in or qualification of that commandment. Don't kill - period.
How then do we justify having killed some 3,000 of our own people and 10s or 100s of thousands of other people in a war in Iraq initiated under false pretenses against a people who have done us no harm? (Not to mention the hundreds of thousands injured and probably millions indirectly damaged by our actions)
How is it possible that as Christians we have authorized US citizens killing people in dozens of other sovereign nations right now?
By killing people, we as a nation, as a people and, in some cases, as individuals are responsible for violating one of the fundamental laws of God, according to both Christian and Jewish law. Does that mean we go to hell?
One of the 10 Commandments is that nothing should be more important than God. Among other things, our obsessions with material wealth, with social and ego position and with power are more important to much of the leadership and many of the Christian citizens of this country than God. Again, we are violating fundamental Christian law as written by the hand of God.
One of the 10 commandments is to not swear falsely using the name of God in the oath. Our elected federal representatives swore under oath in God's name to represent the U.S. fairly and to the best of their abilities and to uphold U.S. law. Some then swore falsely to Congress, the American people, other countries and the United Nations, in violation of public trust and in violation of God's commandment, that they had legitimate reasons to wage war against a people who have done us no harm - again violating God's command. In hundreds of other ways, they are also violating their oath by violating U.S. law and falsely representing the interests of the public for personal and private benefit. Our President selectively chooses which laws to even pretend to follow, quoting "Executive Privilege," in violation of his oath and of this law of God.
One of the 10 commandments is not to steal. Taking the oil revenue of Iraq and giving it to others for reasons that would not exist without our interference is stealing. Giving the taxes collected from our citizens and businesses to others without legitimate public benefit reasons is stealing. Taking taxes from people who morally oppose illegitimate war and spending that money on illegitimate war is stealing. Violations of God's law.
One of the 10 commandments is to not bear false witness against a neighbor. Some of our government representatives have fabricated stories and sworn their truth in order to mislead our country and others into war. They have born false witness to the American public, to the US Congress, to the United Nations and to other nations and peoples. God's law broken again.
Two of the 10 commandments are not to desire or take that which belongs to others. We have taken the lives of family members of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people. We have taken the social order they organize their lives around. We have taken their functioning systems, their stability, their oil revenues, their sovereign rights, their peace, their national treasures and in some cases their very faith in humanity.
We are routinely focused and active in trying to find ways to take resources, wealth, power, possessions and rights from others for our own benefit. Greed, avarice and covetous desire are now hallmarks of despoiled America. Violations of God's laws.
It doesn't matter how much someone says they are Christian. It's their thoughts and deeds that count. Much of the Christian leadership and population of this country is falsely evoking the name of God in order to do things that are in blatant and irreconcilable violation with the teachings of Jesus Christ and of God.
The teachings of Christianity, Judaism and most religions are the same: to focus on spiritual growth above all else and to exist and behave in unconditional love towards ourselves and all others. It's pretty simple, really, and most people can understand it.
To blatantly violate those teachings in the name of God or Christ is profound and obvious hypocrisy. Recognition of that hypocrisy is a major source of depression, disillusionment and social decay in America, where about 1 in 8 people are on anti-depression drugs. As the leaders of our country continue to rampantly lie, cheat, steal, lust, murder, abuse, violate and commit sacrilege, let's at least be honest enough to not allow that to be done in the name of God or of Christ.
Christian hypocrisy should be the exception, not the rule. Nor should Christian hypocrisy be a tool we allow to be used by the rulers.
Just say no to the abuse of Christianity!