Quote from: traci_k on December 05, 2014, 08:19:20 AM
Please, not all conservatives are socio-pathic fundy preachers. I'm Fiscally, conservative, socially open-minded.
It's become easy to lump all conservatives together as having the same overall perspectives, and that's largely due to us basing our own on what we see in the behavior of politicians. The thing is, being successful in politics requires one to forfeit a lot of genuine values, so you rarely get anyone in office who can do anything beneficial for society whether they want to or not. The same goes for liberal politicians. Both parties have some great ideas and equally some really bad ones. More often than not, though, they really have no idea how to make the good ones work; and the higher up you go the more you're expected to comply with the agenda of those above you. All we ever do, in response, is react emotionally, and base our opinions of each candidate on what they decide to say. Whether or not any of it is true, we always support the one whose words evoke the most feel-good emotions. We completely disregard all of the bad things they do — and all of the promises they've neglected to keep — because it's just easier to fawn over some avatar than to think about anything or to consider reclaiming responsibility for the social and economical direction of our country.
When you think about it, politicians and preachers are pretty much in the same line of work. People often idolise them more than what they're supposed to represent, they refrain from talking about the true origins of their doctrines, they want your money, and often don't even believe their own words as the whole thing is more often just a profit charade. Both spew cleverly arranged "sermons" that make you forgo reason for a heightened emotional response that ensures your unquestioning devotion to them and their version of reality.
Our political systems today are too defective and chaotic to genuinely embrace the idea of liberty and equality. Personally, I think they were designed that way. Everything needs to be radically revised, but that's a discussion for a time and place that isn't here. One of the biggest things to go, though, is the attempts to base policy (even loosely) on religious belief. I'm not saying that religion as a whole is a bad thing, but religions that are self-righteous are a bane to social equality. The Gnostic path of Christianity has always been far more inclusive, but that was stamped into the dust by the hardcore monotheistic kings and conquerors who shaped what Christianity is today. That has allowed people like this guy from Arizona to surface as a pastor with such hostile views. As others have already said, I'm pretty sure Jesus (if he existed) would not behave this way.
Judge not lest ye be judged.
And what about John 8:10-11? He who has not sinned, cast the first stone.
Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."These preachers obsess way too much on the old laws of Leviticus which only applied to the people at that time, and not as some kind of "moral" guideline. The Bible is a collection of poetry, parable, personal experiences and observations, and highly metaphorical accounts of ancient history. It is NOT a manual of morality or of holy living. Yes, it has a lot of insight and philosophical merit, but should
not be the ultimate go-to source for spiritual guidance.
Let it be one holy book among many, and allow true spiritual revelation to come from your own direct connection with God, whether you consider that the God of Abraham, the God/Goddess of paganism, "The Universe" or whatever. That's where we all find the truth, anyway. We know what is right intuitively. Whoever doesn't has no spirituality at all.
