The Religious Left
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Angela Harlem
Jesus Online
Captain Obvious commercialisation! 
deep
Blue Crack Addict
VertigoGal
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
when Jesus said love your enemies, I think he was being a little over-simplistic.
deep
Blue Crack Addict
Jesus was a simpleton?
BonosSaint
Rock n' Roll Doggie
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2004
- Messages
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Seems to me Christianity is a hard religion when you realize you have to turn your instincts upside down. Easier to justify it than to face it. Easier just to look for enemies than to look at
ourselves. Easier to follow those parts of the Bible that already fit our philosophies and behaviors and biases, read those parts that give us comfort, but don't make us uncomfortable.
I direct this to no one here. I don't know how you practice your religion. I don't know what difficulties you have to face, what turnarounds you've had to make, how you struggle to meet your faith. I know it's a continuing journey. I respect those who struggle with it and triumph. I'm a little suspect of those who find it easy.
But I've seen the attitude in my first paragraph in too many people who call themselves Christians. I know how easy it is to find a text that seems to support ANY view I might have.
Christianity should be a revolution of action and of thought. I can't meet the standard. But I think Jesus's teachings made it
pretty clear what the standards are.
ourselves. Easier to follow those parts of the Bible that already fit our philosophies and behaviors and biases, read those parts that give us comfort, but don't make us uncomfortable.
I direct this to no one here. I don't know how you practice your religion. I don't know what difficulties you have to face, what turnarounds you've had to make, how you struggle to meet your faith. I know it's a continuing journey. I respect those who struggle with it and triumph. I'm a little suspect of those who find it easy.
But I've seen the attitude in my first paragraph in too many people who call themselves Christians. I know how easy it is to find a text that seems to support ANY view I might have.
Christianity should be a revolution of action and of thought. I can't meet the standard. But I think Jesus's teachings made it
pretty clear what the standards are.
blueyedpoet
Refugee
i say amen to BonosSaint
the iron horse
Rock n' Roll Doggie
U2Scot said:
What do the religous left believe?
the iron horse
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Re: Re: Re: The Religious Left
Can you add a comment on the first two?
I always vote Libertarian.
melon said:
Can you add a comment on the first two?
I always vote Libertarian.
A_Wanderer
ONE love, blood, life
Just as sanctimonious as the RR and not half as funny.
Re: Re: Re: Re: The Religious Left
Sure. The Religious Right, by definition, seems to measure one's Christianity on the basis of being anti-gay and anti-abortion, whereas everything else doesn't matter. I mean, do the Christian Coalition voter guides really care about anything besides those two issues? No.
The Religious Left puts more emphasis on "Love one another" and the philosophical meaning of that. And since the meaning of that philosophy is open to interpretation, that's probably why they get mislabeled as "wishy-washy." The emphasis is more on personal conscience, rather than trying to enforce a specific viewpoint upon everyone.
True libertarians probably don't qualify as part of the Religious Right, because the RR insists on legislating all of their religious beliefs as if no other religion is worthy of belief or existence. "Religious freedom" only enters their vocabulary when dealing with foreign countries where the RR is a minority.
Anyway, that's my rather bitter interpretation of the state of religion these days, so forgive me if I'm too acidic here. Self-identified members of the Religious Right that disagree with the Christian Taliban element of American politics today are more than welcome to comment on what the "Religious Right" means to them.
Melon
the iron horse said:
Sure. The Religious Right, by definition, seems to measure one's Christianity on the basis of being anti-gay and anti-abortion, whereas everything else doesn't matter. I mean, do the Christian Coalition voter guides really care about anything besides those two issues? No.
The Religious Left puts more emphasis on "Love one another" and the philosophical meaning of that. And since the meaning of that philosophy is open to interpretation, that's probably why they get mislabeled as "wishy-washy." The emphasis is more on personal conscience, rather than trying to enforce a specific viewpoint upon everyone.
True libertarians probably don't qualify as part of the Religious Right, because the RR insists on legislating all of their religious beliefs as if no other religion is worthy of belief or existence. "Religious freedom" only enters their vocabulary when dealing with foreign countries where the RR is a minority.
Anyway, that's my rather bitter interpretation of the state of religion these days, so forgive me if I'm too acidic here. Self-identified members of the Religious Right that disagree with the Christian Taliban element of American politics today are more than welcome to comment on what the "Religious Right" means to them.
Melon
Angela Harlem
Jesus Online
Re: Re: The Religious Left
Probably very similar things to what jesus is claimed to have believed. You know, that everyone is equal and needs to be acknowledged and treated as such, that rights and the basics are and should be for everyone. That dispersement to assist overall good is better than pandering. That thou shalt not kill, regardless of guilt or sin on soul etc. Let God work all that out with unborn babies, and vicious killers, and everyone in between. That no one's beliefs or rights will come at a cost to another's. Poverty must be overcome. All mankind should endeavour to help one another. Arrogance shall not dictate.
the iron horse said:
Probably very similar things to what jesus is claimed to have believed. You know, that everyone is equal and needs to be acknowledged and treated as such, that rights and the basics are and should be for everyone. That dispersement to assist overall good is better than pandering. That thou shalt not kill, regardless of guilt or sin on soul etc. Let God work all that out with unborn babies, and vicious killers, and everyone in between. That no one's beliefs or rights will come at a cost to another's. Poverty must be overcome. All mankind should endeavour to help one another. Arrogance shall not dictate.
blueyedpoet
Refugee
amen to angela harlem.....i think i should just be that loud guy in the congregation that just randomly yells, "amen!" and "hallelujah!"
hiphop
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Blessings! BonosSaint and Angela Harlem got it right.
hiphop
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
yolland
Forum Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
- Messages
- 7,471
Why choose a link like that to introduce the topic? Ugh. I would describe myself as a religious progressive, but the self-congratulatory groupthink embodied by some of those slogans makes me want to puke.I support the existence of an organized religious left, so long as its focus is on encouraging people of faith to take their observance of teachings overlooked by the religious right--putting the the poor first, protection of the socially vulnerable--to the level of policy advocacy, often the only level from which meaningful action can be pursued.
What I would not support is the self-equation of the religious left with religious Democrats--that would only lead to the pathetic spectacle of my-God-is-better-than-your-God as political "discourse." As Jim Wallis himself has said, God is neither Republican nor Democrat, and God's teachings cannot be contained by a party platform.
If the message really comes from God, then it ought to be taken to all people of faith in a spirit of humility and respect (I'm thinking of Bono meeting with Jesse Helms here), not monopolized for partisan purposes. That God-is-on-our-side-not-yours attitude is precisely what makes the religious right so polarizing--I would hate to see the religious left make the same mistake.
nbcrusader
Blue Crack Addict
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Religious Left
Are we talking about politics or religion? I kind of expect the usual political stereotypes in FYM.
We never really look at the religious aspects of left & right.
melon said:
Are we talking about politics or religion? I kind of expect the usual political stereotypes in FYM.
We never really look at the religious aspects of left & right.
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