Reverends Dr. Judy Cummings and Dr. Kevin Riggs write in the Tennessee Lookout, “What does it mean to be a Christian? » :
“But confessing with our hearts and our mouths is only the beginning of living our Christian faith. As Christians, we are called to live as Jesus called us to live. He made it simple and clear in Matthew 22:37-38 when he said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And you will love your neighbor as yourself. These two statements are inextricable, which means that it is impossible to love God without loving your neighbour. Many Christians forget to come back to the foundation of our faith – Jesus Christ. We can see how he called his followers to live the kingdom ethic here on Earth.
In the 1920s, an Indian philosopher named Bara Dada said, “Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians are not like him.
This was said 100 years ago, and it is even truer today. The evil, toxic and harmful “Christian” evangelicals are bent on destroying the very foundations of our country and replacing them with their own ideals. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of any religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. This means that the government cannot create a state religion or deny the freedom to practice any religion practiced by the citizen. Not only that, but it also protects every citizen from religion. You are not religious? Don’t worry, you are still protected – no religious beliefs can be imposed on you.
Evangelicals absolutely hate not being able to proclaim that the United States is a Christian nation. So what are they doing? They use religious and “moral” positions to undermine established law. Let’s take an example: abortion. As of this writing, a SCOTUS leak has shown that at least five judges are signatories to an unpublished opinion that, if published, will strike down Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. Texas and a few other states have already done so by executive order, and more states will soon follow suit.
But there is a problem. People who practice Judaism do not believe that abortion is against God’s law and is a requirement if the mother’s life is in danger. By banning abortions, states are setting themselves up for a challenge to the First Amendment by not allowing the free exercise of religion by citizens.
Rabbi Rachael Pass writes, “If someone tries to argue that restrictions on abortion are justified by the prerogative of religious freedom, we can explain that our religious freedom requires that we have access to abortion care when it is necessary and wanted. (Times of Israel, May 4, 2022)
Dominionism and Christian Fascism (sometimes referred to as “Christofascism”) are all found in today’s modern evangelical Christian movement and encompass the fascist, totalitarian, and imperialist aspects of the Christian Church.
Many of the first settlers in America came here to escape religious persecution in their homelands. Many others were sent here and elsewhere as prisoners of these same religions. Let’s not create the same situation in the future by becoming what our ancestors fled from in the first place.
In May 1939, a writer named Ivan Bussart, published in The Kingsport Times of Kingsport, Tennessee, wrote this:
“The affirmation of my articles will be that, if and when fascism invades America, it will be…[an] iron hand enclosed in a silk glove:
For God and country!
Freedom and democracy!
Pure Anglo-Saxonism!
Freedom and the Constitution!
— slogans that run counter to the real and real rights of citizens…”
Sound familiar?
Until next month, if you don’t eat your meat, you can’t eat pudding. Trust your doctor (unless he is a religious fanatic) and the scientific community. Ignore the boobies from the margins of both sides. And above all, do not take wooden nickels.
— Mike Aurelius is a member of the Times Writers Group. He is a semi-retired business owner and professional writer who takes a hard look at the pronouncements of far-right and left-wing politicians.
