Fake Christianity.

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I have a problem.  I’m ashamed to admit I’m a Christian.    That’s because these days, open-minded, compassionate, tolerant people with a conscience give you side-eye if you tell them you’re a Christian.   They assume you embrace the far right values that many (if not most) churches today are teaching — values that embrace hatred, fear, paranoia, intolerance, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, racism, authoritarianism, nationalism (as opposed to true patriotism) and — incredibly — greed (according to many Calvinist teachings, God rewards those who “live good lives” — the select He has already chosen — financially and materially).   According to many fundamentalist and charismatic churches (especially of the Dominionist or prosperity-gospel type), if you’re poor or sick or aren’t “blessed” in this life, then you are not favored by God and will suffer eternal torment in Hell after living a life of hell.     It’s unbelievable they can worship a God who is that cruel.

I’ve doubted for a long time that the far right “Christians” who run the nation are actually Christian at all, because their values seem to be in direct opposition to anything Jesus taught.    They follow Ayn Rand’s teachings more closely than those of Christ.  The reality is that it’s simply not possible to embrace Ayn Rand’s philosophy of selfishness and also be a Christian.  They are diametrically opposed.

Last night my doubts turned to certainty, after I watched in horrified astonishment as the GOP held a party at the  White House’s Rose Garden to celebrate their “victory” — a victory that, if it passes Senate — will destroy the lives or bankrupt tens of millions of average Americans and kill many, including innocent children and people with pre-existing conditions.    I don’t have to go into everything that is wrong with this bill, because it would fill an entire page.  That information is readily available elsewhere.   But the spectacle of watching these rich white thugs drinking beer and partying after such a devastating bill passed the House, convinced me once and for all that these monsters are not only not Christian, they are absolutely, unapologetically evil.     They may quote from the Bible and go to church and bloviate on about abortion and homosexuality, but they worship the god of Mammon.   They have sold out the American people they are supposed to serve in exchange for even more tax breaks for themselves and those just like them.  They are relentless in their cruelty and their greed is never satiated.  No matter how wealthy they become, they want more and more and more.   Last night I sat, horrified, watching these — beings (I hesitate to call them human) — toast each other and laugh about how they had stuck it to the rest of us who don’t have a prayer of ever having their kind of power and material wealth.    They were celebrating the fact that they were placing real lives at risk.  I turned off the TV, sickened and enraged and terrified by what I had seen.

No matter what they say, these are not good people or Christian people.  They walk on the side of darkness and their hearts are black and empty.   You can see it in their cold, dead eyes and their cruel, twisted smiles.    They use Christianity as a way to cloak how dark their souls really are — and as a way to get even more power.  Over a period of several decades starting in the 1970s, they have systematically co-opted Christianity as a means to win gullible and less-educated people (mostly in red states) over to their side.  They have persuaded them their way is the only moral way, the only American way, the only Christian way.  But it’s all lies.  Using Christianity as a selling point is a brilliant tactic to gain even more money and power because it works like a charm.   Using Christianity this way, these conscienceless criminals and power brokers have been able to hijack a nation and now have complete control of every branch of government.   But still, it’s not enough.  They want more, and more, and more.

Now their real work begins:  dismantling everything good this nation ever stood for — discouraging and suppressing and ultimately destroying our freedoms and our  opportunities and our rights and our safety nets.    Their real goal is to create misery, chaos, despair, hopelessness, illness and suffering (both mental and physical — with no means to alleviate it), ignorance, poverty, strife, cruelty, slavery, and death.  Lots and lots of death.   It’s become increasingly obvious to me that their real agenda is to thin the herd.   They used to try to hide this ugly reality, but they don’t even try very hard anymore.   It’s all but out in the open for anyone who opens their eyes and ears.   Their excuses for the horrible things they do are transparent to all but the most obtuse (or brainwashed) person.  With every decision they have made, every executive order signed, every bill rammed through without ever asking once how the people feel about it, every lie they tell, they show their contempt for humanity, especially those who tell the truth or who are vulnerable and defenseless.

But it’s much more than just a show of contempt. They really are trying to kill off or silence the most vulnerable Americans — the poor (this includes the middle class and so their decimation will take a bit longer), the sick, the unwanted, the elderly, the disabled, the mentally ill (mental illness won’t be covered under this new bill but now the mentally ill can go out and buy guns — hmm, I wonder what message they are being sent?), immigrants, women, children, the unconventional, the artists, the dreamers, the truth-tellers, the whistle-blowers, and all the people who believe in justice and fairness and kindness and compassion and inclusion and opportunity and clean air and water and safe and healthy food.   They want us all gone, and as soon as possible.  Their “healthcare” bill is nothing less than slow mass genocide of those who aren’t useful to them.   They have even said so much.  If you protest against this mistreatment and yes, abuse — they scream about socialism and how the “liberal media” is destroying America.  Again, lies.   Under our new president, the lying and gaslighting has become so bad that lies are now facts, and facts are ‘fake news.’   Twisting the language and spinning lies into some kind of alternate reality is the way dictators gain their power — and it’s evil.  There’s nothing remotely Christian about what they do.

I saw this comment today under an article about the the cruel GOP healthcare bill that explains the fake “Christianity” behind such a move:

God sent Joshua to kill every man, woman, and child to take the land of the Canaanites.  The Bible is clear that sometimes God requires His people to commit genocide.

 

That’s the mentality we’re up against.  No mention of how Jesus healed the sick (without demanding payment or refusing due to inability to pay),  was friends with the downtrodden,  loved the poor and the disabled and the old and the ill, and warned about greed and what happens to those who worship money and power.    No, because all those things are “socialism” and to them, socialism is the greatest evil.     To them, socialism is “theft” from those who “earned” their riches — often through no effort of their own.

It wasn’t always this way.   There was once a time when Christianity leaned more to the left.   This used to be called the “social gospel,” something you rarely hear about anymore, though very recently there’s been a resurgence of left wing Christianity among those who can see through the false Christianity that’s pushed down our throats by the far right.  Peaceful Christian groups like the Quakers and Sojourners ministered to the poor, sick and others  in need — expecting nothing in return.  Mainstream Christian churches such as the Methodist or Episcopalian church held similar values.  Sure, things like abortion, homosexuality, and sex outside marriage were frowned upon or even forbidden, but the overall message of Christianity was one of love, compassion, and caring for those less fortunate.  Some Christians — and some (mostly mainstream) churches – still embrace this message, but the ones that were able to influence our current leaders are those that do not — and instead preach the prosperity gospel and a theology of exclusion (you’re going to hell if you are not “predestined” or chosen by God), fear (of hell and punishment on earth) and hatred (of anyone whose beliefs differ).

Starting in the late 1970s, a group called the Moral Majority began to change the political landscape, which until that time worked for the most part.   They funneled money to the GOP and the GOP knew a good deal when they saw it.  They realized they had to use Christianity to win over more supporters and soon, politicians were spouting Bible verses and talking about how schools should stop teaching evolution (or any science at all) and railing about abortion, and later, blaming those afflicted by poverty or disease for their “bad choices” or immoral behavior that led to their problems.   They preached about America being a Christian nation — when it was becoming anything but.     At the same time, the churches that had influenced the GOP were now telling their members that if they didn’t vote for so-and-so GOP politician, they were going to hell.    I have no doubt that fear of eternal damnation being constantly drummed into their minds and hearts by their pastors had a lot to do with why so many religious red staters switched from Democrat to Republican, since most would never benefit from the policies they were voting for.

Make no mistake — although they may talk endlessly about their Christianity and be able to spout Bible verses, these compassionless rulers aren’t pro-life and they don’t care about family values.    Railing on about how horrible abortion is, but denying healthcare to low and middle income pregnant women (by making pregnancy a pre-existing condition and putting pregnant women in a “high risk pool” where premiums will be astronomical) is going to make it financially impossible for many women to afford prenatal care.   For many of these women, abortion (which is far less expensive than prenatal care and labor and delivery) may seem like their only choice, so the number of abortions will skyrocket.   For those who courageously opt to have their child without the benefit of healthcare,  they will run the risk of themselves or their babies dying in childbirth — it might as well be 1917, not 2017.

Their anti-life stance goes way beyond the abortion issue.   Many of the newly uninsured will include families with children.     Last week, Jimmy Kimmel gave an emotional speech about his newborn son who had a serious heart problem.   In his moving plea, he talked about the fact that, while he is wealthy enough to have afforded healthcare for his son, even under the GOP plan, taking away healthcare from average and poor families will cause many children and babies who are sick to die.   Any bill that will force a parent of average or low income to have to face their own child’s preventable death just because they can no longer afford healthcare is both cruel and evil.

Pro-life isn’t just about babies and children.   Pro-life means preserving and enhancing lives no matter what your age or income.   Forcing older people, the unemployed, the disabled, the poor, and the sick off healthcare is sentencing them to possible preventable illness, pain, and death.   The powerful “Christians” in charge of things now think nothing about bombing other countries regardless of whether innocent civilians — including women and children — are killed or maimed.  Free public education, organizations like the EPA that protect our air and water, arts and humanities programs, federal grant programs that help kids afford college, access to scientific information about our climate and environment, organizations that help families and children thrive, and numerous other organizations that preserve and promote quality of life are all being threatened.   Their deliberate destruction is nothing short of abuse, as is the suppression of freedom of speech and truth in reporting.    To be pro-life, you must care about all human life.  To care only about the unborn and then callously offer no support or help to the already born — or rip away what support systems they have — isn’t pro-life, it’s pro-birth and anti-life.    Unfortunately, many people who are less educated or lack critical thinking skills are one-issue voters, and always vote for the anti-abortion candidate no matter what their stance on other issues — even though the pro-choice candidate may actually be the more pro-life one when you step back and view the big picture.

We live in dark times, and whistleblowers and truth tellers are increasingly in danger because they threaten to expose the real agenda of the sociopaths and abusers who have hijacked our country and hold it hostage.    Lying is their specialty.  Why would they make an exception and tell the truth about Christianity?   Look at their actions, not their words. These are fake Christians who only worship money and power.  If it’s the Enemy who’s behind far right “Christianity,” then he’s giving it a very bad reputation, and that’s precisely his intention — and to create shame in the act of calling yourself a Christian, which is what I’m struggling with these days.

***

I want to share this article someone just shared with me.   It was written by a therapist who has many patients traumatized by this president. She uses DBT principles to help them cope.   I think people may find this article as helpful as I did.

How to Stay Sane if Trump is Driving You Insane.

38 thoughts on “Fake Christianity.”

  1. Wow. Very passionate post, Otter. You put a voice to much of the anger, frustration and sadness I feel right now… for all the reasons in your post. Where is the love?

    Liked by 2 people

  2. I think Calvinism is the true antichrist. It opposes Christian ethics in every point. Did someone really use the word “genocide?” I think you’re right about them wanting to “thin the herd.” I saw a quote on this page that said, “This is the real #AHCA. There is actually a provision in the bill that says that 3 billion dollars will be saved because people DIE SOONER.” I wouldn’t excuse people for supporting this crap because they are “uneducated.” They have bibles, don’t they? They have the words of Jesus to refer to if they want to know what is “christian” and what is not. Nor is it about people being “sociopaths.” Some of us are Leftists. For example, James, who just wrote https://nopsychos.wordpress.com/2017/05/05/mythbusting-psychopathy-part-1/
    This passage in particular strikes me as highly relevant:

    “Every human being is capable of evil, but non-psychopaths mostly use their morality, their political ideals or shudder their religion as justification for their wrongdoing. The infamous Milgram experiments on obedience demonstrated that average Joe is more than happy to electrocute someone to death when told to do so by an authority figure.

    “Yes, psychopaths do bad things if they feel like it. I’d say that’s a hell of a lot more honest than, for instance those who claim to believe in equality but still want a strong border to keep out the people with dark skin, or those oh-so-pious liberal saints who ignore Hobo Bill every day to get their morning Starbucks, or the followers of the Religion of Peace™ who blow themselves to kingdom come for a sniff of virgin. Ask most psychopaths, they will say the same. We are sick of taking the blame for everything, and laugh at the hypocrisy of those who assign said blame.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • I agree with every point you make here. I absolutely think Calvinism is the real antichrist. It’s obvious these people never read their bibles, or only cherry pick what they like (mostly from the Old Testament with its more punishing and angry God)

      Liked by 1 person

  3. They’ve been running this con game for some time. I bought into it back in the 80s, in my impressionable teens, when I thought Pat Robertson was a prophet. I thought a Christian had to be a Republican. Over time, however, after I stopped watching, I began to realize that at heart I had always been leaning Democrat.

    Now I sit and bite my tongue as family members (including the hubby) rip on Democrats. Just had to go through that today. :{

    A couple of things struck me as I read that (predictably) all of my state’s Republican reps voted for the bill: One, that it’s political suicide and they’re very bold, considering the near-violent town halls blasting them for wanting to take away Obamacare.

    Two, that the newspaper article said they did this to keep promises to their conservative base. Except–They’re representing ALL of us. They’re not just representing the conservative base. They need to take all our needs into account.

    Liked by 2 people

    • It’s party over the people with them.
      They care nothing about America or Americans — only keeping their wallets fat. Yes, and Trump’s pride is very much one of the reasons they voted for the bill. He may have bribed them (he has the money to do that) or even threatened them. He rammed this bill through because it just eats at him so much that the BLACK MAN had so much success with the ACA and he can’t stand that. His hatred and racism is off the charts. And he’s willing to sell us all out — even to our deaths — to save his stupid ego. His sycophants go along with it either out of choice or because they’ve been bought off. As for Ryan, this horrible bill is really his baby. Ever since his beer drinking college days, he’s been all about sticking it to the poor.

      Another point you made — about your hubby railing on Dems– the nation is increasingly polarized, more now than ever. Friendships and even families are being ripped apart over politics (I’m not saying yours is one of those!) I’ve had to defriend several FB and Twitter friends because their far right tweets were too upsetting to me. I’ve been defriended by Republicans. And it’s not just me — I keep reading about how almost everyone these days is having to defriend or being defriended over politics. It never was this bad before. I’m bracing for civil war or at least mass rioting.

      The only good thing about this healthcare bill is it’s almost certain to destroy their chances of keeping their control over the house and senate in 2018 — or getting reelected in 2020. But I have my doubts — they have this country pretty much hamstrung. Finally the left has woken up and is doing something but I hope and pray it isn’t too little too late.

      Liked by 1 person

      • In order to survive, I avoid many people’s FB posts so I can stay friends with them. I only read a small number of posts these days. Even with their politics, there are other things I like about them and don’t want to get rid of a bunch of friends: I’m shy/introverted and this is a red area, after all. 😛

        I used to like Paul Ryan…. 😛

        Liked by 2 people

    • You, too, Nyssa? I actually worked full time for Pat Robertson’s TV ministry for approximately three years in the 1980s. I was there when he announced that he was going to run for president. Before the media knew, he called all of his employees together and informed us first. “God has told me to run for President!” he said.

      After he made his announcement, he asked if anyone had any questions. One brave soul raised his hand. “If God told you to run, did he also tell you whether or not you are going to win?”

      Pat’s answer: “Well, let me put it this way — God Does Not Back Losers.”

      The things that I experienced while I was working for the 700 Club, caused me to slowly lose my Christian faith. Soon after I quit, I began calling myself an agnostic, almost an atheist. I was 34 years old, then. I remained staunchly agnostic until a few weeks before my 50th birthday. Today, at age 64, I am still a Christ follower. But my beliefs are very different than the charismatic prosperity beliefs I had in the 1970s and 1980s.

      I am beginning to follow blogs again, Nyssa, so I will refollow yours. ❤

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Hello Lucky Otter,
    I am a morally conservative Christian, so there are Biblical values I am obligated to uphold no matter what. Having said that, I entirely agree with your post in general. The Republican Party seems to be almost entirely composed of sadists, without an honest person among them. You are entirely right in saying that these people are actually anti-life, not pro-life. But they represent a certain demographic among the American populace whose identity is based on a history of violently oppressing other people, even though they also can read Bibles and know that what they are doing is wrong. This includes many people in red states, even though many of these people are poor.

    The question for us who are revolted by the things being done by Trump and his cronies is this: what steps are we willing to take to intelligently resist him? Are we willing to learn the theory and practice of nonviolent resistance (which includes much, much more than just protest) and to start working together to build alternatives to the evil system we now see?

    Liked by 2 people

    • That’s a good question but I don’t have a ready answer. Certainly, nonviolent resistance is the only way to go — unless our lives are literally at stake and we need to take measures of self-defense (we’re not there yet). I don’t agree with far left militant groups like Antifa. Their anger may be justified, but their violent actions are self defeating and only make the rest of us who are part of the resistance look bad. I think we need to educate people, where possible.
      Try to act like Jesus would.

      It’s imperative we not allow this regime to become normalized — that means people start thinking of this as our “new normal.” That is a very real danger and we must not ever think this is normal because it’s not. Normalization is really a form of societal Stockholm Syndrome. We must not let that happen, and we must vote these monsters out in 2018, no matter how hopeless things may seem. Things are not hopeless, unless we do nothing.

      For now, we can write letters or call our representatives, attend peaceful protests and/or town hall meetings (I think they do make an impact), and sign every petition we can.

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  5. The neo cons that presently rule this nation thanks to Russian interference and intentional meddling in the election by our FBI directior, are committing sins against its people in the name of religion when religion has nothing to do with their agenda. Rather they are consumed with greed, hatred, racism, and the need for power. Trump doesn’t have a religious bone in his body nor does Bannon whose desire is to “create a new world order”. Hypocrites who would cut funding for the underprivileged , stop free lunches in schools for needy children, deny women’s right to proactive healthcare . Hopefully it is not to late to clean the swamp on 2018.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Their lack of empathy is unreal.
      I mean, school lunches? Meals on Wheels? REALLY?
      Oh, and the lies — he’s doing the opposite of everything he promised. Draining the swamp — they ARE the swamp.

      I agree with you. Trump isn’t religious at all. Just because he allowed a bunch of Christians to pray over him doesn’t mean he is one. He even said he doesn’t think he ever asked God for forgiveness and doesn’t think he needs to. His Christian sycophants make excuses for him — they call him a “baby Christian.” Ha! He’s a baby alright, but he’s no Christian.

      Liked by 2 people

  7. I don’t think you know as much about the motivations & beliefs of those who differ with you as you seem to think you do.

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      • I didn’t say I think “what they are doing” is right. I don’t think you’ve even clearly defined who “they” are.

        I said I don’t think you know their motivations and beliefs as well as you think you do; namely that at bottom it is all motivated by hatred.

        That’s just an assertion you’re making- you made that assertion, it’s your responsibility to back it up with argumentation and evidence, it’s not my responsibility to prove what they are doing is right.

        And frankly I haven’t heard any evidence that the people you describe are motivated by hatred, I’ve just heard you SAYing that they are.evil monsters whom you hesitate to call human and they are full of hatred, fear, paranoia, intolerance, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, racism, authoritarianism, nationalism (as opposed to true patriotism) and — incredibly — greed.

        That’s all just assertions and rhetoric, and it’s pretty nasty.

        i agree with you about a lot of things, and disagree with you on some, but where I disagree with you, I give you the benefit of the doubt that you are at least sincere and well-intentioned.

        I don’t see why you can’t do the same with those who hold different political views than yourself. Or if you’re going to ascribe all these evil motives to people, at least say exactly who they are and explain how it is that you happen to know thus and such to be the state of their hearts.

        Liked by 2 people

        • Jim, I wasn’t talking about those who hold different political views than I do.
          I try not to judge regular people by their politics, religion or anything else. I think some of them are misinformed or brainwashed and others are one issue voters. Some believe this way because their churches tell them they have to or they’re going to hell. Whatever. I don’t judge them AS PEOPLE. What I was referring to here — and I think I made it pretty clear — is the PEOPLE IN POWER right now. Trump, Ryan, McConnell, Bannon, et al. And their sycophants and financial backers — The Mercers, the Koch Brothers, etc. They hold all the power, they care nothing about the people (and their behavior makes this pretty obvious — I don’t need to prove this with sources, although I could easily do that if I wanted to) — it’s party over people, Trump’s pride over what Americans want and need. I judge these leaders — NOT the average folks who happen to support them.

          BTW, I don’t think all Democrats are great human beings either — they pretty much worship the same “god” but they are less obvious about it and make more efforts to hide their greed. (I do like Obama though).

          For the record, I did not like Hillary Clinton. She was not likeable (I consider myself an independent, but I did cave and vote for her after Sanders was out). Hillary’s transgressions (email scandal, etc.) were FAR less evil to my way of thinking than the Trump administration’s treasonous connections with Russia and their total disregard for the health and wellbeing of their own constituents and everyone else who isn’t one of the 2%. Also, I hated Trump’s attitude toward women and immigrants.

          I actually think there are very few honest politicians. Most have some skeletons in their closets. But I’ve never seen anything even close to this administration’s lack of ethics and morals. Even Nixon looks like a saint compared to Trump and co.
          Again, I was talking about those in power, not the people who voted for them.

          Liked by 1 person

          • Even still, those are big assertions to make about those people and you haven’t persuaded me anyways through any kind of reason or evidence.

            You don’t have to prove it with sources? Why not? You are free to simply assert it and somehow it’s assumed you’re correct? How’s that? What kind of source would you quote anyways? Wikipedia? The Snopes low down on whose heart is festering with evil? Rachel Maddow? Seriously. I would stick to the facts and policies and reasons and lay off the name calling.

            And besides Westboro Baptist or whatever that horrible “church” in Florida is called, I would be surprised if many (or any) churches are telling their congregations they have to be republicans or vote republican or be against universal health care or whatever or they’re going to hell. That’s news to me.

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            • Many of the southern Baptist churches right here where I live told their members exactly that. I even saw it on one of their church signs — I forget the exact wording but basically it said if you vote for “the Jezebel” you are going to suffer God’s wrath. I know people around here who tell me their pastors handed out literature promoting Trump during his campaign and telling them to vote for him.

              Sure, I could cite sources but the article was long enough, and it is an opinion piece after all, not a news story. I’m prepared for some people to disagree with me about this, but this is the way I feel and I wanted to write about it.

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            • Of course, it’s your right to say whatever you want, it’s just not very persuasive or compelling to me. And I’m fine with you disagreeing with me too.

              I still don’t think there could be such a thing as a reliable “source” (save a 60 minutes interview with Jesus himself) about how evil or good any given politician’s or political donor’s heart is. They may just have different pre-suppositions & principles than you.

              That’s pretty primitive about saying you’ll go to hell if you vote for Hillary. I guess pastors have every right to express their political views & advocate, but “telling” their parishoners to vote a certain way seems authoritarian & disrespectful.

              Liked by 1 person

            • I can’t see into their hearts and of course I’m not the final judge, but from what I can see and hear, I’m convinced that my opinion is correct. Of course, I’m aware it’s only an opinion. (Though I’m far from the only one who feels this way).

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  8. I don’t know a lot about politics. The way I see it, with my PTSD, just running my own life is challenging enough! There’s No Way can I sort out how the government or the world should be run.

    Because of this, I don’t know enough about most of what you wrote here to form an intelligent opinion, dear friend. But I absolutely agree with you that greed is not Christian, hate is not Christian, and war mongering is….. scary as hell!!

    As a former Christian turned agnostic turned Christian again, I believe that God is love, and that Christ’s ministry was all about love — even, and maybe especially, for the “unlovable”. As Christ Himself said, according to the new testament, the greatest commandments are love: love God first, and love your neighbor as yourself. (Your neighbor being anyone whose path you happen to cross, as His parable of the good Samaritan illustrates.) Jesus said that if you obey His two commandments of love, you will fulfill all of God’s law. And YAY, you even get to love and care for yourself! It is all a matter of balance.

    About 19 years ago, when I had excellent medical insurance, I had some scary physical symptoms. My dr at the time ordered a colonoscopy for the following week. As it turned out, I had a 25 mm precancerous growth in my colon, an adenomous benign polyp.

    A little over a month ago, I began having the same scary physical symptoms. I saw my dr right away. She ordered a colonoscopy. More than a month later, I am still trying to get a colonoscopy approved and scheduled. I have had two relatives die of colon cancer. I am a youthful 64 and, except for these symptoms, I feel and look like I am in excellent health. I’m looking forward to heaven some day, but not yet, I still have things to do!

    Obviously, things are not ideal in our health care system right now, even with Obama care. I may end up having to go to the emergency room to get my surgery done. And I have health insurance! Two kinds!!

    I really don’t know what the answer is, at this point.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I have a question about your comment in the beginning of this article about Calvinists being rewarded for living good lives. Could you please direct me to the texts that support this thought? As a reformed theology church goer, that contradicts all that I have been taught. People are inherently sinful and any goodness comes from God only and not us.

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    • I’ll try to get some links for you. I might have used an incorrect term. I’ll fact check this. I do know the Prosperity Gospel, which is very popular in the United States, does believe that. I could be wrong about Calvinism, but I do know they believe in predestination.

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      • Thanks. You are correct about predestination but I have never read or heard anything close to the prosperity gospel in reformed theology. It is quite the opposite of it.

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  11. Duh, and I thought ***arminianism*** – i.e. ‘salvation isn’tguaranteed, saved by works – was a brimstone-minted lie…

    On the other hand, this calvinism seems a ***fake*** version – as in it’s not about God causing ‘dead'(as in helpless) people to live unto him.

    They’d be a lot different if they realized they were utterly *doomed* without more-or-less continuous divine intervention (being ***unable*** to do ***anything*** right then doesn’t matter… even if this belief is largely due to parental and societal abuse; is it really that different when only real perfection will serve?)

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