The Religious Freedom Day group has been planning for Religious Freedom Week for maybe a month or more, so I was planning to write a considerably less long, less ranty diary than this one. But you know. Meanwhile. Events.
[Edited to add: Before reading any further please be aware there’s a DKos tag you might like to check out for all this week’s diaries, #ReligiousFreedomDay. Now back to our regularly scheduled rant.]
Religious Freedom Day will be officially celebrated tomorrow in the United States. So look, right-wing extremists, before you use tomorrow as an excuse to rant about how you are so put-upon and not free: Once and for all: You are NOT Christians! Jesus Christ was not about HATE. Hate is on you. Own your own crap!
To be clear: When I say that you are not Christians, I do not mean that as an insult. I do not mean that you are going to Hell. I don’t believe that. I don’t care what religion you want to be a part of. Just stop LYING about it!!!
Want to live by Leviticus? Fine. Wear clothing of one fabric, never spill your seed, never cut your hair, keep kosher, don’t eat shellfish. Whatever floats your boat. But it’s not Leviticus Christ. Call yourselves Leviticusians.
Want to live by “Saint” Paul? Fine. Enjoy that celibacy. Good luck with that, but more power to you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But it’s not Paul Christ. Call yourselves Paulians.
Be whoever you want to be, no harm, no foul. But stop the HATE! That’s what I care about: If you’re a hateful, murderous, conscience-silenced soul.
Some of Christianity’s greatest thinkers agree with me that salvation doesn’t depend on what you call yourselves. C.S. Lewis, who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia as both children’s fairy tales and Christian allegory, with Aslan the Lion as the Jesus Christ figure, wrote about the battle between good and evil, after which Aslan accepted a man from the “EVIL” side into heaven. Of course his followers questioned him. He responded (this may not be an exact quote, but what I remember from reading these books repeatedly as a child):
| He was faithful to his wife, loyal to his friends, generous to those in need, brave in battle. He worshipped Me. He just called Me by another name. |
I would go one step further: Every agnostic and atheist I know struggles to figure out how to be a good person in the absence of deferring to a dubious and fallible authority. So you don’t personify God. You just call Her by another name: Morality or Justice or Fairness, Love or Empathy.
So no, you don’t have to be Christian. But if you want to be Christian, you do have to know your Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John: The stories of Jesus Christ and His teachings. The rest of the Bible is context and history and contrast. If you’re not following the Jesus Christ of the Gospels, then by definition, you’re not Christian. Again, it’s not an insult. It’s definitional.
Granted, we none of us are perfect Christians. I think that God whispers to us what She wants. The world shouts. Our own selfishness shouts. We will be fallible; forgiveness is made for those times when we try our best but we’re less than perfect. You can make mistakes, sincerely repent, be forgiven, become Christian again. But in the middle of your sin, you are not acting as a Christian. It is way past time that you recognized that!
Yes, I am well aware that both sides think the other is wrong: The Christian Right and Left Share the Same Faith But Couldn’t Be More Different.
Progressive and conservative Christians do have a few things in common.... Both types of Christians are equally dogmatic about their interpretations of scripture.
But a howling mob stringing up nooses and looking for executions? That is decidedly anti-Christ. If the Gospels contain any Big Messages, that is one of the most obvious!
Welp, many of you are facing the prospect of long prison terms. So you might as well use your time wisely. I think we all have that bit of the Holy Spirit within us, what you might call Superego or Conscience. Meditate, seek answers inside yourselves, think about what you tried to do, find your values. Maybe you’ll come through your expensive trial ordeals or out of prison in a few decades, a better person for your trials.
If you manage to avoid prison, think about how easy it is to get caught up in a mob. And be the voice of Resistance to a gathering of the mob next time.
It’s the HATE that needs to stop. Don’t pull that kind of crap and ascribe it to any version of God or not-God. Don’t pull that crap whilst calling yourselves elenacarlenians either. I would find that insulting and offensive. I can only imagine how furious with you an actual God might be. Cut it out!
Look, I understand righteous indignation. I’m a Bernie supporter. I am frustrated that he is not president. But I have been pleasantly surprised by how Biden and Harris are talking the talk. I think we’re all going to be happy with their leadership. So give it a chance.
You really have no choice. If there had been fraud, the president’s DOJ and/or FBI and/or private investigators for his lawyers would have found it and presented it to the courts all of the 60+ times they lost in court for lack of evidence. There was no widespread fraud. Joe Biden won about 80 million votes.
And since you know I can’t leave a diary without a cat photo, let me just say that worship of Ceiling Cat is purrfectly fine, and I have also done that from time to time. Srsly. Now go, have a Happy Religious Freedom Day, and sin no moar.
PLEASE NOTE: I am thinking of publishing some version of this in right-wing forums tomorrow, probably under another pseudonym. Feedback greatly appreciated to that end!