Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

    I can hardly wait to see who wins this battle...Is one version of God better than the other? Which God is more powerful and closer to the Bible?

    God only knows (pardon the pun).

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

    Originally posted by Miulang
    I can hardly wait to see who wins this battle
    do yerself a favor and save yerself now. run away from it and never turn back. this kinda junk is poison to the brain and to thinking intelligent individuals.
    Don't get caught up in it!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

      Originally posted by kimo55
      this kinda junk is poison to the brain and to thinking intelligent individuals.
      Now, hang on.

      "Running away from it" is certainly one response, but here's another: Read the article and hear what some people have to say about it, as Miulang did in the original post.

      Jim Wallis is a person politically-attentive Americans should at least be aware of. Not only has his book been on the NYT bestseller list for months, but it has spawned monthly discussion groups in Honolulu and other cities where left-leaning Christians have had to ask themselves what happened last November.

      The organization mentioned in the article, Sojourners, is not a political organization; it is a social action organization, focusing on Christians' taking part in work that feeds the hungry, helps the poor, and sticks up for the underdog.

      Sojourners and Jim Wallis are just disappointed that the President Bush version of the American Evangelical church is the one people are calling "religious America."

      Miulang, it's not an issue of whose God is right or more powerful. Please don't look at this movement this way. What's being contested is NOT who God is, or whose God can beat up whose. The issue is what role a Christians' faith is supposed to play in politics and government.

      I'm jumping in on this conversation because it's very easy for me, a socially liberal, politically conservative, worshipping Christian, to point to the Christian Bush supporters and say they're idiots for voting the way they do, but that's not solving anything and it's certainly not getting my candidates into office. It's much less easy to try to figure out how these people, motivated by a love for the same God I love, can see things so very differently from the way I see them. What Jim Wallis's book and what the Sojourners are trying to do is figure that out.

      The religious right's allies in the powerful conservative talk radio sector are ready to smother any progressive Christian movement at birth.
      Please note that this article is saying it's a showdown between political movements, not religions.

      "The religious left in this country hates and despises the God of Christianity and Catholicism and whatever else," the high priest of conservative talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, said on his show April 27. "They despise it because they fear it and it's a threat, because that God has moral absolutes, that God has right and wrong, that God doesn't deal in nuance."
      Okay. Something that should be pointed out here, although I hope it's not necessary, is that Rush Limbaugh is not a particularly religious man. Just the way he phrases the first sentence in this quote is evidence enough. He doesn't know the phrasing here. That "whatever else" is what people say when they don't really know what they're saying. The use of the pronoun "it" in reference to "the God of Christianity" is further evidence that what Limbaugh's doing here is motivated more by the desire to get people agitated than by the desire to get it right, and that's okay. I'm fine with that. What I have a problem with is that people will hear this and think Limbaugh speaks for the religious right, and that's simply not true, since he's not one of them.

      The other thing I want to say about this quote is that Limbaugh's also missing the point; if there is indeed a progressive Christian movement, it isn't the least bit interested in denying that there are absolute rights and wrongs. What's at issue here is how much politics and government are supposed to play a role in that. Believe it or not, there are Christians who can separate the two issues.

      I'm concerned that people will only hear voices like Limbaugh's on one end and Kimo's on the other, and not hear that there are some believers stuck in the middle here, trying to come to terms with our differences.
      Last edited by scrivener; July 3, 2005, 07:36 PM.
      But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
      GrouchyTeacher.com

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

        Yeah, like me. I can swear like hell in my blogg but always at the end, I put God bless you and your family. God bless AMERICA. In the name of Jesus, amen.

        God doesn't want the saved. He's looking for the sinners. I was born a sinner and still a sinner...yet, by the grace of God, I have made it through some major things. Yeah, I'm in the middle and seeking my difference.

        Auntie Lynn aka Auntie Pupule
        Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
        Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

          Scrivener,

          That is true what you said. I know of people who can't seperate Politics Right and Wrong in a Christianity Environment. I know two boys who commited suicide in the Mormon Church a few years back because they couldn't seperate those two, and because they were trying to live their lives in a Mormon Environment where they dictate you by right and wrong by their own Covenant. Basically you had to be a GOODIE TOO SHOE. I wished that those two boys were still alive they were good boys. I don't blame Christianity for thier own demise, they had a choice in their lives and they took it right or wrong. I believe in God and OFF the Record I hope they are up there. I believe that GOD is a GOD of forgiveness, love and compassion. I aint about to compare my God with others as long as their God bring meaning in their life that's all.
          A Warrior does not give up on what he loves he finds the love in what he does.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

            I just find it ironic in a country that was founded, 229 years ago on this day, on the premise that religious freedom was an unalienable right and that religious matters have no business in government, that issues like this still need to be debated.

            As an agnostic who's had the opportunity to sample many religions in my life (and who has tried to live the "best parts" from each one), the only issue I have right now is with the way the current Administration and Congress (and maybe soon the Supreme Court) are allowing their religious beliefs to cause such sturm und drang. Since I really can (and do) tolerate most religious ideologies (as long as they don't try to convert me), I am just amused that some people need to justify their decisions solely on what a religious leader (or a talk show host) says. If people need to rely on their religion to lead stable lives, that's fine. Just don't try to foist your ideology on me.

            Can you say, "baaaaaaaa"?

            Miulang
            "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

              Forcing anything on anybody is wrong including Religion. You have the right to live peacefully and enjoy your life, with or without a religion to guide you, as long as you know what you are doing and what you want out of life, which most people don't but they try anyways. I try not to force my ideals on to anybody and most of the time I never or hardly talk about religion because it is a very sensitive subject. You don't need a Religion to differentiate between right and wrong and what we can and cannot do. We are the judges of what we do and what we feel is right and wrong. I've been to many Religions except Budhism and Satanic Church and debated with certain priest over these issues. One time this Pastor for some Christian Church told me that I shouldn't be taking Kung Fu on Saturday morning because I should be at Quire singing praising God. He said something about Kung Fu being Evil. I got angry with the guy because who is he to tell me what I can and cannot do on my own time, and walked out and never came back. After that I don't think I attend Church anymore, but I still believe in God.
              A Warrior does not give up on what he loves he finds the love in what he does.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                Aloha everyone

                I have a question for Auntie Lynn Could you elaborate on what you mean by your statement?

                Really just curious as to what your personal opinions about Christianity are?
                Not to offend anyone by any means.


                God doesn't want the saved. He's looking for the sinners. I was born a sinner and still a sinner...yet, by the grace of God, I have made it through some major things. Yeah, I'm in the middle and seeking my difference.
                Last edited by junebloom; July 4, 2005, 10:52 AM.
                www.myspace.com/cc_splace http://www.heavenlyrainbows.blogspot.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                  Originally posted by junebloom
                  And on another note I don't know if mormons consider themselves Christians since there into a man name Joseph Smith to my understanding?

                  uh, like; dunno if the catholics are christians cuz they are into a guy named "the pope" ?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                    Originally posted by junebloom
                    Aloha everyone

                    I have a question for Auntie Lynn Could you elaborate on what you mean by your statement?

                    Really just curious as to what your personal opinions about Christianity are?
                    Not to offend anyone by any means.

                    Yeah, like me. I can swear like hell in my blogg but always at the end, I put God bless you and your family. God bless AMERICA. In the name of Jesus, amen.

                    God doesn't want the saved. He's looking for the sinners. I was born a sinner and still a sinner...yet, by the grace of God, I have made it through some major things. Yeah, I'm in the middle and seeking my difference.


                    And on another note I don't know if mormons consider themselves Christians since there into a man name Joseph Smith to my understanding?
                    About Mormonism. It's talked about whether or not they are Christians just because they believe in a Dude named Joseph Smith. Tell you what. I was raised Mormon and they believe in the same thing that every Christian believes in which is Jesus Died on the Cross for the Sins of man, and any religion who believes in it are Christians. Now about this Joseph Smith guy, they believe that he is Prophet that interpreted sacred golden tablets given to him by God, and that he had a vision that the old way of Christianity wasn't a good way anymore, so new covenants and doctrines were added on which is the foundation of Mormon Doctrine and way of life. I couldn't really stand to live that way because how could you go your whole life without commiting at least one sin such as drinking and going to bars, watching rated R movies, drinking Coffee, and Soda and Tea, and looking at naughty pictures? Mormonism is Christianity but more about self sacrifice and I figure I want to do everything except going to jail for stuped things and Drugs. I don't want to go any further with this subject so SUBJECT CLOSE. I DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYMORE.
                    Last edited by Pedro; July 4, 2005, 10:41 AM.
                    A Warrior does not give up on what he loves he finds the love in what he does.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                      Originally posted by Pedro
                      I was raised Mormon and they believe in the same thing that every Christian believes in which is...
                      ... their religion/splinter group/cult is the only true conduit to a decent seat up on yer own cloud somewhere in close proximity to their own version of an anthropomorphic deity.
                      (god was created in man's image)

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                        First of all the pope is not a deity

                        Second of all case close I said to my understanding meaning what I have heard about mormons. But the one thing I can say from my own experiences with mormons they seem to have anger when it comes to someone questioning their beliefs or a sarcastice view as if know one is allowed to question or disagree with anything they say you are more proof of that. Is that what Chrisitianity is about? Is that how Christian act to people who are looking for an honest answer? But any way Pedro I do apologize for offending you, your religion, any other mormon or anyone that may read this post stating I don't know if mormons really considers themselves Christians because of the ones that I have dealt with and having a friend that was a mormon and what I've heard about Joseph Smith. I do apologize to you all.
                        peace to ya
                        Last edited by junebloom; July 4, 2005, 11:03 AM.
                        www.myspace.com/cc_splace http://www.heavenlyrainbows.blogspot.com

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                          Originally posted by junebloom
                          mormons they seem to have anger when it comes to someone questioning their beliefs or a sarcastice view as if know one is allowed to question or disagree with anything they say


                          I dunno if mormons have a lock on this kinda reaction. Depends on the in-duh-vidual. All people of all religions have the capacity to react this way and many do. also many are cool about it and just smile, fart and walk away...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                            Originally posted by junebloom
                            First of all the pope is not a deity

                            Second of all case close I said to my understanding meaning what I have heard about mormons. But the one thing I can say from my own experiences with mormons they seem to have anger when it comes to someone questioning their beliefs or a sarcastice view as if know one is allowed to question or disagree with anything they say you are more proof of that. Is that what Chrisitianity is about? Is that how Christian act to people who are looking for an honest answer? Doesn't seem to appealing Pedro but any way peace to ya
                            Like I said CASE CLOSE. I could care less of what you think of Mormonism and me, but whatevers. The one thing I remember most is of people wearing nice flashy suits at church while I wore old worn white shirts and beat up pants. Yeah people did buy me some clothes but I was constantly watched and underminded. When my parents went to church they were scorned for being young having so many kids and most of all BEING POOR! We were the joke of the church, laughed at. When my parents couldn't endure anymore they left, but me I stuck in there for a while, than my sister started coming with me. But still the judgement and the hypocracy still continued. The one thing they were trying to get me to do was go on a mission, and complete my Boy Scout Eagle Rank, but without the help of my parents I was on my own. People asked to see them but in a snide sort of way. The people really did judge you not just on what you did but more so on your social status. Most people in my church had such high egos about themselves that it was sickening. When I got older I decided I had just about enough of the Bull and that's when I decided to leave for GOOD!

                            Sorry about getting worked up. Usually I am blundt and straight foward when I say things and I realize I may have gone a little too far. No hard feelings and peace be unto you as well.
                            Last edited by Pedro; July 4, 2005, 11:52 AM.
                            A Warrior does not give up on what he loves he finds the love in what he does.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: The Religious Left v. the Religious Right

                              Originally posted by Pedro
                              Like I said CASE CLOSE. I could care less of what you think of Mormonism and me, but whatevers. The one thing I remember most is of people wearing nice flashy suits at church while I wore old worn white shirts and beat up pants. Yeah people did buy me some clothes but I was constantly watched and underminded. When my parents went to church they were scorned for being young having so many kids and most of all BEING POOR! We were the joke of the church, laughed at. When my parents couldn't endure anymore they left, but me I stuck in there for a while, than my sister started coming with me. But still the judgement and the hypocracy still continued. The one thing they were trying to get me to do was go on a mission, and complete my Boy Scout Eagle Rank, but without the help of my parents I was on my own. People asked to see them but in a snide sort of way. The people really did judge you not just on what you did but more so on your social status. Most people in my church had such high egos about themselves that it was sickening. When I got older I decided I had just about enough of the Bull and that's when I decided to leave for GOOD! Is there anything else you wanted to know?
                              a few things I "wanted to know"
                              and a few points;
                              -what does "case close" at the beginning of a long paragraph mean?
                              -and what does "I could care less" mean?
                              - what exactly is meant to be conveyed when a sentence ends with "but whatevers"?
                              -I was raised in da mormon church and they were all cool and sharing. non judgemental. very sweet people. I ain't one for organized religion, but if I were ever to awaken one sunny morn and find my individuality had mysteriously evaporated while visting the land of nod and now find myself a "joiner", I would be swayed to this christian faction, prolly, youbetcha.
                              -Sounds like ya stuck around in a situation, that was not fun at all. and ya did it for.. how many years? even after ya saw the handwriting plainly on da wall? sup wi dat!?
                              -can ya just discuss and debate without goin' off?
                              Last edited by kimo55; July 4, 2005, 11:58 AM.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X