Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy❤
No. of Recommendations: 7
Getting a message tailored to him. Delivered by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde at the National Cathedral.
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families — some who fear for their lives. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals — they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.
I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God, for the good of all people — the good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen.” Seeing and hearing the delivery makes it a bit more powerful. It's about 3 minutes. (I snagged this from the middle of a commentary video - feel free to skip any commentary and just listen to the message.)
https://youtu.be/Q4FU0f0pupI?si=7lvyyOqEcVjLI0wZ&t...Of course, it's a woman in a position of authority that has the guts to stand up to the bully Trump. And it clearly made Trump uncomfortable, listening to a woman call him out.
Afterword, he was asked about the sermon. "I don't think the service was very good. It could have been much better."
--Peter
No. of Recommendations: 2
Her message was as shitty a thing to do as Trump did to Biden during the inauguration speech.
I'm so glad Trump won.
And people like that woman - helped it happen - twice.
No. of Recommendations: 10
Her message was as shitty a thing to do
Mercy is a core teaching of Christianity. Encouraging parishioners to have mercy on the downtrodden is a pretty common thing in church. At least it is in the churches I have attended over the years.
--Peter
No. of Recommendations: 1
Encouraging parishioners to have mercy on the downtrodden is a pretty common thing in church.
It appeared to me to be a lecture instead of a sermon by the WOKE bishop (or whatever s/he title is)
No. of Recommendations: 8
WOKE
The standard MAGA response to anything resembling human kindness.
Because cruelty is a feature, not a bug.
—Peter
No. of Recommendations: 1
The standard MAGA response to anything resembling human kindness.
Because cruelty is a feature, not a bug.
—Peter
Yeah well, welcome the the LGBTQ religion.
And we wonder why people don’t go to church anymore.
No. of Recommendations: 15
It appeared to me to be a lecture instead of a sermon by the WOKE bishop (or whatever s/he title is)
Preaching the actual words of Jesus as found in the gospels usually has that effect on MAGAs. They react as vampires shrinking from sunlight.
No. of Recommendations: 8
Her message was as shitty a thing to do
Not at all. Quite appropriate. A message Trump needs to hear but will not heed.
So easy to hurt that little narcissists tender feelings.
No. of Recommendations: 2
Preaching the actual words of Jesus as found in the gospels usually has that effect on MAGAs. They react as vampires shrinking from sunlight.
That's an apt visual. :-)
Though Jesus, as depicted, was also a bit dark. And loony (like when he cursed a fig(?) tree for not bearing fruit out of season). I suspect MAGA likes the "I come bearing a sword" Jesus, and not "love thy neighbor as thyself...the meek shall inherit the Earth" Jesus. The latter is much too liberal for them.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Mercy is a core teaching of Christianity. Encouraging parishioners to have mercy on the downtrodden is a pretty common thing in church. At least it is in the churches I have attended over the years.
Haven't been in a church in a long time, though I did end up attending a service a few years ago (not a church...it was a bigger event). The subject was mostly obedience, devotion to god (above all things), and "we are in the final days" (which they've been saying for decades). Not so much about mercy or compassion, though they did make a point about not getting involved in violence.
Before that, when I was a kid, it was more "if you're a sinner, you'll sit for all eternity in a fiery pit...burning". Again, not much talk about compassion or mercy (in fact, not much mercy to be had...be "good" or burn).
Granted, small sample size. But I have read the bible, and it's full of wrath and intolerance and mayhem. The Sermon on the Mount is probably the nicest bit of the entire 66 books (depending on which version of bible you have).
No. of Recommendations: 2
Preaching the actual words of Jesus as found in the gospels usually has that effect on MAGAs. They react as vampires shrinking from sunlight.
You know better than that.
Had the Presbyterian Church in my town stuck to preaching the actual words of Jesus
it would not had closed its doors going on two years ago.
Interesting the three other Churches on Main Street still flourish.
“Final service to close First Presbyterian Church
It is not a sight often seen—a for sale sign hung outside a church building.”
”
No. of Recommendations: 5
Mercy is a core teaching of Christianity.
Mercy doesn't seem to be on many Evangelicals minds these days - it's all about White Supremacy now and the invading brown hordes peppered with Muslim terrorists. Pointing out homegrown white terror doesn't penetrate the wall. Wonder what procedures will be skipped for quicker deportation, and when the plane flights in will be stopped? I can't see anything about the plane flights in the EOs. Must've missed it.
Jesus isn't important anymore because White Supremacy fills the collection plate along with abortion.
Luke 6:36 - Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
James 2:13 - For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Matthew 5:7 - “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Matthew 9:13 - Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
1 Peter 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 - The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Micah 6:8 - He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
23:6 - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. - Lord's prayer.
No. of Recommendations: 1
It's equally wrong to have Kamala or a Dem at a Church and say "Please, have mercy on the fetuses with beating hearts when you plunge a fork into them and then go to an animal rights march"
BUT, the attitude and tact of that woman remind me it was good that Trump won.
Sadly I still dont think he'll have the focus to truly do things but then again - to me - bad things are good too.
No. of Recommendations: 4
The subject was mostly obedience, devotion to god (above all things), and "we are in the final days" (which they've been saying for decades). Not so much about mercy or compassion, though they did make a point about not getting involved in violence.
Before that, when I was a kid, it was more "if you're a sinner, you'll sit for all eternity in a fiery pit...burning". Again, not much talk about compassion or mercy (in fact, not much mercy to be had...be "good" or burn).
Granted, small sample size. But I have read the bible, and it's full of wrath and intolerance and mayhem. The Sermon on the Mount is probably the nicest bit of the entire 66 books (depending on which version of bible you have).
The autobiography of someone whose experience of church has been of the fundamentalist-evangelical variety, though some streams of heretical Roman Catholicism bang those themes as well.
I get that. Even many “Christian” churches flee from the actual teachings of Jesus like vampires from sunlight.
The institutional church, after all, is run, from top to bottom by backbiting, fallible human beings like you and me.
No. of Recommendations: 2
Before that, when I was a kid, it was more "if you're a sinner, you'll sit for all eternity in a fiery pit...burning".
I'm sorry that you had to experience that. It surely has an impact on you today.
Unfortunately, religious organizations are run by fallible humans, just like every other organization. Combine that with humans having a tendency to be motivated more by fear than by altruism, and you end up with the "fear" faction of almost any religion becoming larger and attracting more contributions than those that focus on love and helping each other. There are exceptions, of course - haven't heard of any militant Buddhists, but I might have missed it.
Fear seems to work for political parties as well.
I could go on much longer on this topic focusing on Christianity, but that's probably better suited to a different board.
--Peter
No. of Recommendations: 2
The institutional church, after all, is run, from top to bottom by backbiting, fallible human beings like you and me.
Quibble. I'm not a back-biter. I get the impression from your missives that you aren't either. Though I am fallible (of course).
I think leadership (whether church or government or corporations -which many churches are-) that aspires to be leadership has some personality traits, and one of them is "back-biting" to get ahead and achieve power.
I never had much interest in power, or being "the boss". I had no ambition to be a manager at my company. I liked solving puzzles in the lab, and writing reports. I had no use for office politics (which is why I topped-out at the level just under "manager"). Others crave to be the boss, and will do whatever it takes to get there.
No. of Recommendations: 1
I'm sorry that you had to experience that. It surely has an impact on you today.
Not so much today. I had the benefit of college and grad school, and studying hard science in both. Even in Sunday school, I asked questions they could never answer (like "how did they fit all those animals in a boat"...I didn't yet know about genetics, and the hazards of inbreeding). But in the sciences, I quickly figured out that a lot of the claims of the Abrahamic faiths were simply wrong. Demonstrably, unquestionably wrong**.
I won't bore you with the full evolution of my journey. Suffice to say, I came to realize that every claim that could be verified was wrong. Other claims were not falsifiable, so that's a dead end. And morality?? Everyone I've ever met is more moral than the edicts from the "scriptures". Just talk about slavery, and it's already game over...I "win" the morality point.***
So no reason to believe there is a deity. My mind can be changed by a good logical argument (I have yet to hear one), or data. Otherwise, there is no reason to believe in a deity.
**Which irritates me no end...we can prove the claims are wrong, but people claim the science is wrong instead. Even my electrical engineer coworker (before I retired) who was a YEC.
***At no time do the Abrahamic tomes say "don't own other people as property", and even Jesus is alleged to have said "slaves must obey their masters". Most of the 10 Commandments are rubbish...they could have replaced one of them with "don't own people", but they didn't
