Apocalypse Now!

Apocalypse Now!

The Dark Age Restored

Any day now, many Americans hope and believe, the Lord of Hosts will cleanse the world with fire and brimstone and reward His Elect with eternal life. For some believers, this joyful purging of the wicked will begin with a sudden (or "rapturous") reunion of the righteous with their King and Saviour "in the air" (I Thessalonians 4.16). Others are not quite so certain of the teleportation but are equally convinced that Judgement Day is imminent and are making sure they are on side with Jesus before that terrifying but glorious apocalypse.

Gone is the old "postmillenarian" idea that human endeavour could create the heavenly kingdom here on earth and that, after a thousand years of Christian goodness, only then Christ would return to rule a perfect world. That dangerously socialistic Christianity, popular from the 17th to the early 20th century, has no place in the winner-take-all society of the early 21st century. Rather, we are in a "premillenarian age" in which the rough stuff comes first. Satan is already loose in the world and the showdown is just around the corner.

Not since the age of the crusades, which began when Pope Urban II goaded the barbarous Franks into invading the more civilized Muslim world, has global geopolitics so effectively intertwined Christianity's claims to an exclusive and universal salvation with a naked grab for global resources. Then, it was "the riches of the east"; today, it is oil. Chillingly, all the elements that characterised the earlier Dark Age have their 21st century echo in a nouveau Catholicism: apocalyptic foreboding, homage to Jerusalem, holy war, prophesy, faith healing and the whole medieval circus of religious deceit. Not for centuries has a faith-based agenda so closely meshed with political imperatives.

Welcome to a Brave New Jesus World.

A Chosen People, a Hated Nation

"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity."
– George W. Bush, State of the Union address, January 28, 2003.

"Loathing for America is about as close as we can get to a universal sentiment: it is the one dynamic that unites fundamentalists and liberals, Arabs and Latin Americans, Asians and Europeans, and even the overshadowed Canadians, with the rest of the world." – Z. Sardar.

Americans, like the Jews, think of themselves as rather special, a chosen people, set apart by God for the achievement of his Divine Purpose. If Allah has rewarded Islamic states with most of the world's oil reserves because of their fidelity to the precepts of Muhammad, then the Christian God has rewarded America with all else. The foundation myth of America – political freedom, unleashing the dynamic enterprise of its people, creating unprecedented wealth – like all such myths, contains an element of truth yet conceals more than it reveals. How could America have failed – a "virgin" land of vast resources, into which were poured the technologies that Europe and the Middle East had developed over thousands of years? And if the headlong scramble for material wealth has begun to exhaust America's own riches then the habit of acquisition and accumulation has rendered the whole planet an American resource, servicing U.S. business and policed by U.S. military. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

In the American mind, if short-comings are acknowledged at all, then they are as nothing compared to the correctness of the American Way, a system so good that, in a million movie houses and TV networks across the planet its image is held up for the world to admire and emulate. In its self-image the U.S. remains a haven of personal liberty and material comfort; a compassionate nation, willing to sacrifice its "boys" for the liberty of others; and an open society, drawing into itself all who have the determination to "make it" and the will to help themselves. As the US wrestles to impose its will on the whole world, aggressive wars and full-frontal invasions, as ever, are supplemented by covert operations, military coups, economic sanctions and financial pressure.

Yet, damn it, the rest of the world refuses to share in the conviction that the USA is the best of all possible worlds. The world struggles to resist the embrace of Americanisation because it resents the destruction of its own culture and the pillaging of global resources to feed the appetite of the insatiable American behemoth. The world sees through the illusion that the "American dream" is not really theirs for the taking: that for every billionaire there must be ten thousand worker bees; that most of the world will never be like Orange County or Long Island; that colonies might derive marginal benefits from imperial patronage but in all essentials they will always be exploited by empire. There can never be a world of only winners and no losers. And America, we all know, is determined to "win".

Jesus makes it better

The image the world sees of the USA, for all its acknowledged achievements, is an arrogant superpower, selfish, aggressive and heedless of the long-term consequences of its actions, either for people or the environment. The world is not unaware that U.S. commitment to "freedom and democracy" goes no further than support for any oppressive regime that gives a free hand to U.S. corporations and allies itself to U.S. global strategy. A "freedom agenda" is only useful when the local despot happens to be antagonistic to American interests. It is not "freedom" but the requirements of U.S. business which are paramount.

Bestriding the world in a way that no other nation can, America has become more invasive, predatory, and repressive than at any time in its history. Eight hundred U.S. military bases garrison the globe. The world's most parochial culture has assumed for itself the role of "global policeman"– yet could there be any worse choice to police the streets of Baghdad or Kabul than a hick from Arkansas or N Dakota? Financial instruments, the World Trade Organization and the IMF, intervene on behalf of U.S. interests in every economy. The U.S. government treats the United Nations with contempt and routinely eschews international agreements. From the Kyoto Protocol on climate change to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from the International Criminal Court to the treaty to ban land mines, from women’s rights to the ban on the use of child soldiers – the U.S. rejects them all because they may place a restraint upon the U.S. and its corporations.

Aware that it is unloved, America struggles but fails to understand its critics. Unwilling to recognize that its own greed is the harbinger of a hostile and violent reaction across the world it creates simplistic bogeymen. Explanations are to be found in "psychological factors such as aggression and fanaticism" (Laqueur, p23), in dysfunctional personalities that suffer persecution mania, misdirected libido and weak ego. They must "covet the US lifestyle", they must "hate US freedoms", as if an Islamist straps a bomb to his chest because he can't live with the idea that Americans periodically elect a president, buy handguns mail-order, or watch daytime TV.

The Christian ideology – the peculiar, late-evolving, business-friendly, fundamentalist, Americanised Christianity – comes to the rescue. It may not directly determine the political agenda but it informs the climate from which that agenda emerges. Both its "faith-based" domestic program – animated more by hysteria over abortion than, say, concern for poverty or social injustice – and its proselytising "world mission", encourage and endorse a predatory global capitalism and the assault on civil liberties. Driven by an assumed rather than proven spiritual superiority over more ancient creeds, it reduces all issues to a simplistic though epic struggle of good versus evil. It is an "us" and "them" world. The abortionist, the homosexual, the rights activist, are linked inexorably with the serial killer, the revolutionary, the terrorist. All are agents of the Devil.

National Christianism's reassuring message is that its own devotees, whilst they may for ever remain "sinners", are most certainly saved by their allegiance to the one true god. If they err in this temporary earthly life, and, for example, obliterate the life and liberty of a distant people, Jesus will understand and forgive them. Not accepting Jesus is by far a greater sin than merely squandering the resources of the earth or bringing misery to millions. An almighty God, not restrictions on carbon emissions, will safeguard the natural environment but only if He wills it. What matters, anyway, is the everlasting life hereafter.

Americans, after all, are citizens of God's favoured nation, which has been assigned by the Creator with a mission on the world stage. What more noble purpose could there be than that, even if along the way there is a little bit of gluttony and corruption? We all know the really bad guys are out there. Satan and his earthly henchmen wear the black hats or, more often, head scarves. And if the conflict proves fatal for the late, great, planet earth, then that too is all part of the divine plan.

Proof of the Holy Presence!

The Lord is with Us!

"And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy." – Acts 2.18.

The salesman of Jesus is no different from the secular entrepreneur, whose ambition to break into an established market compels him to trumpet a "unique selling feature" in order to draw customers away from established brands. Old-style Pentecostalism had about run its course when a new strain of mental disease broke out in U.S. communities rich in the fellowship of Jesus and void of a rational understanding of the world. The "Charismatics" had arrived. What they offered was the "Christian experience" – a theme park for the spirit, where the roller-coaster ride was an immediate, tangible display of the divine. A century or more of scientific rationalism, and its abundant and obvious rewards, counted for nothing. Switch off the brain. Feel the Spirit. Not just "tongues" but holy laughter, healing hands, ecstatic writing, fainting, shouting, spontaneous testimonials of faith, weeping and animal antics were all "gifts of the spirit", the visible presence of the Lord on earth.

Not since the medieval "age of faith" had so many otherwise sane individuals partaken in wide-eyed theatrics in the name of religion. Throughout the Middle Ages, disasters such as the invasion of Europe by the Mongols, the Black Death, etc., had engendered a general sense of foreboding. In this climate of fear and anxiety "ecstatics" and self-abasing flagellants, agitated by a plethora of miracle-inducing relics, performed before vast crowds anxious to be close to God's work. Their hysterical fits before the bones of a saint had made them, fleetingly, the centre of attention. Repeated often enough they might earn the patronage of a local grandee, or at a minimum, establish for themselves a new trade in "healing". More importantly, their behaviour endorsed the "authenticity" of the saintly shrine where they had put on their show. In consequence, throngs of gullible pilgrims followed in their footsteps and Holy Mother Church happily took the credit – and the cash.

The Jesus Reality Show

The new generation of American religious shysters have a glib but effective "rationale" for their pitch. The world, it seems, had grown not only desperate for oil but lax in its "appreciation of the supernatural" (too much godless education?). God now chooses to send "spiritual gifts" to reward the elect and strengthen the faith of waverers. This repackaged flimflam is sold as "living faith", a product designed to more than hold its own in the world of 24/7 mass entertainment. In fact it is 24/7 mass entertainment. Like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster video, the business model is big, brash, and lowest common denominator. No off-putting ritual, no tiresome biblical study. The door to Jesus is open to everyone. Show time.

Perhaps these charlatans are successful because many Americans are as parochial and poorly educated as medieval European peasants. No doubt a diet of limitless self-gratification leaves them unfulfilled and sends them headlong into spiritual pyrotechnics. A nation of obese bodies and lost souls. Doubtless a large part of the allure is egotistical, a desire to be part of the performance, just like those medieval "ecstatics" before the shrine of a saint. Roll on the carpet. Have your 15 minutes of fame. In the process, of course, the con men for Christ carve for themselves a fat piece of the pie, a "niche market" in the lucrative world of Jesus sales.

With its brash new formula, "charismatics" spread like a virus through the older denominations, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist – even Roman Catholicism! Though Catholic tradition, in particular, favoured sobriety and solemn ceremonial when Christ was in the building, popes Paul VI and John Paul II gave their approval to a "charismatic" movement within the Roman church. Perhaps, as business managers facing a crisis of declining sales, they saw the urgent need to keep up with the competition.

Hell, they had invented all this stuff a thousand years ago!

Demonology!

Satan and his minions join the party

It seems only right that if the Holy Spirit is active in the world then the Prince of Darkness should also be about his diabolic mischief. And in fact 21st century America has resurrected the medieval conviction that "malevolent forces" wait menacingly in every corner, ready to subvert the righteous, abduct the innocent, and enslave the weak. The devil now assumes the form of a terrorist, joining and surpassing yesterday's assortment of drug-crazed psychos, pinko radicals and bad guys. Shades of grey do not exist, only a simplistic, black-and-white political landscape of "good guys" and "bad guys", security or peril.

The formula is uniquely American. By demonising minorities (whether "Injuns", Catholics, blacks, Commies, radicals, gays, Muslims) menace can be multiplied and fear engendered. A handful of delinquent elements and marginal threats are orchestrated into a global menace. A highly militarised state, backed by major corporations and a wealthy elite, exploits the public fear of foreigners, subversives and minorities to create a high-tech version of medieval demonology, in which an unseen enemy is poised to exploit any lack of vigilance.

The Sale of indulgences

Investing in God

Professional fund-raisers now bring in serious dollars for the Lord's work. American Express will do nicely. A few shady deals in the cupboard? Purge your guilt by donating a major wedge to your local pastor. He may not only pray for you but call in a few favours down at City Hall. It sure worked for Charles Keating, the biggest fraudster in US history (the Lincoln Savings and Loan scam). Keating chipped in more than a $million to Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity and she reciprocated with a character reference for his day in court.

And if you want to accrue a few extra credits in the Hereafter, have you noticed all the assorted bric-a-brac and Jesus junk replacing books in the Christian store? Better get your stock of holy kitsch, just to be sure. The Christian retailing industry is worth annually in excess of $3 billion.

Iconography of the Saints

The All-American Superhero

Against the power of darkness crusade the mighty Chosen Ones. The American hero has always been a man with a gun. Popular movies and television shows are either set in the US or on an alien world portrayed as an American culture with better technology. Whether it's "Charlie" in Vietnam or the evil Goa'uld on the distant edge of the galaxy America likes to see itself getting its own way. You got a problem with that?!

While the rest of the world can enjoy, and laugh at, American muscle-flexing superheroes, with their cannon-sized handguns "wasting" every bad guy in sight, the poorly educated, parochial American, takes it all very seriously. He rarely, if ever, experiences other cultures and meets only other Americans throughout his life.

Hey, buddy, you've got to defend you and yours – that's the American Way, don't ya'know!

Fortress America – the Gated Future

Evil: On Special this Week

There is only one response to the lurking Powers of Darkness: love of Jesus and awesome weaponry. Having manufactured and magnified evil, commercial opportunity presents itself. SELL the POWER to match the EVIL. "Security products" flourish in a hot-house of endemic fear. From the handgun to the "panic room", from the helicopter gunship to the Bradley Armoured Fighting Vehicle, you just can't be too safe.

The sappy American buys the power. Enough weaponry to equip an army (never mind that the real consequence is domestic homicidal carnage); an urban assault vehicle, to roll over any obstacle (never mind the destruction of the environment, that's somewhere else, sometime else); and, above all, he buys into the religion of ultimate power, buys into an alliance with an omniscient deity who, real soon, will unleash his awesome arsenal on all who fail to embrace, well, the American Way, of course. And like anyone surrounding himself with a terrifying arsenal in order to be "safe", the probability of violence is raised, not lowered, by the availability of violent devices.

Crusade in the Holy Land

"I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgement against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land."

– Joel 3.2. Biblical basis for Israel's grab of Arab land.

Israel, like America, was established by the elimination of a native people.

At the beginning of the 20th century the land of Palestine had been home to 700,000 Arabs and around 55,000 Jews. The two peoples had lived peaceably alongside each other for centuries. But in Europe, in reaction to an upsurge of anti-semitism in the 1880s, a Zionist movement had been established which sought (in the words of the First Zionist Congress of 1897) "a home for the Jewish people in Palestine guaranteed by public law". Palestine, however, was not the only region considered for an enclave for the Jews. Other possibilities included Argentina, Uganda, the Soviet Far East and even the U.S.A. Initially, even the idea of a Jewish homeland was opposed by many assimilated, notably Reform, Jews, fearing that a Jewish state would undermine their own position. But by the 1930s, and the rise of Nazism, Zionism had "hardened" its declared goal into the creation of a Jewish state within Palestine. The problem then was what to do with the people already living in the region. The solution came with the war of 1948, which allowed the Jews to ethnically cleanse their new republic. With the expulsion of most of the Palestinians, Israel began sixty years of conflict with her neighbours.

Christian Zionism

Historically, the Jews, as "Christ killers", were often on the receiving end of Christian violence. Though employed as slave traders, merchants, doctors, rent collectors and money lenders throughout the Christian lands, in times of social stress the prosperity of this despised minority was cause enough for popular anti-semitic outrages.

The Jews, like others, were drawn to the opportunities which America offered and in the major cities of the eastern seaboard prospered in everything from gangsterism to banking. On the west coast, a Jewish presence was particularly strong in the nascent movie industry. New York money and the Hollywood dream factory were especially benevolent towards the newly established state of Israel and Jewish nationalism became a favoured cause of U.S. foreign policy.

In contrast, Arab nationalism potentially jeopardised the cheap oil supply upon which the entire world economy increasingly depended. Whereas Israel represented an island of

western interests in a vital region of energy resources, aspirant Arab states were problematic. For most of the 20th century, sponsorship of a corrupt and fabulously enriched oligarchy made them "safe" but an undercurrent of increasingly radical Islam introduced a volatile element into a delicately woven matrix of politics, oil and religion.

Today, the evangelicals articulate what politicians think but dare not say: that the Islamic faith is a grave threat to both Israel and America. Like on a medieval map, Jerusalem is again the epicentre of the world. It is here that the final conflict between God's truth and Satan's lies will be fought.

You see, it has all been foretold, in that wonderful book of mayhem and mania – the Holy Bible.

"Prophesy"

Thank God – We know how the battle of Good and Evil will end!

Who can resist being told his or her "future"?

The Romans read victory or defeat in the entrails of a chicken or the guts of a bull. For longer term forecasts they consulted soothsayers and sibyls. The art of the diviner is to remain enigmatically ambiguous, leaving it to the enquirer to make the final judgement. Nostradamus was particular gifted in this respect. Retrospectively his "quatrains" can be fitted into almost any century. Christian soothsayers of the 21st century read "signs" of the End Time in contemporary events. But what's new here? The rise of Islam in the 8th century, the year 1000, the Black Death of the 14th century, the Reformation of the Church in the 16th century, the French Revolution, the First World War, the founding of Israel, etc., etc. – all have been hailed as harbingers of the Apocalypse.

The early Christians, too, had a particular attachment to the arcane art of "prophesy", pouring over a pile of ancient Jewish texts, not so much to discern the future as to legitimise a supposed recent past. Lacking any hard evidence for their godman's existence, they were obliged to reinterpret and misinterpret Jewish scripture to provide "proof" that God had in fact incarnated in human form and for a a year or two had performed miracles and espoused the essentials of wisdom.

As it happened, the Jews had a rich stock of prophetic literature, which invariably foretold the triumph of the righteous and the ruin of their persecutors. The earliest Christians shared the apocalyptic vision and adapted the Jewish tales of an impending "Judgement Day" for their own cause. The rambling nonsense of the Revelation of St John (and other Old Testament books of "prophesy", such as Daniel) were particular favourites. 3rd century Church Father Tertullian no doubt spoke for many when he enthused for the already impending Armageddon in which non-believers would "liquefy in fiercer fires than they ever kindled against the Christians."

But with the triumph of the Church and its acquisition of an earthly kingdom, the End Time was postponed indefinitely, save that in times of social stress the lurid prophesies were dusted off and used to animate the current enthusiasm, whether it be for a holy war or a cultic retreat to a mountain top. Throughout the subsequent history of the faith, apocalyptic prophecy has always retained a special appeal for a certain breed of Christian – one more concerned with the punishment of sinners than with love for his fellow man.

The Book of Revelation may be incoherent bile but one prophesy at least is clear: though millions are doomed to extinction in the Final Conflict, the Christian elect will reap their reward – and surely they deserve it, they have after all "accepted Jesus" – and pass on to life eternal in the kingdom of the Lord. Scary, eh?

"God's Bigger picture"

Apocalypse Now: "Dispensationalism"

Less it be thought that the current anticipation of Armageddon is feverish guesswork – as if – a complete "ideology" underpins the doomsday scenario. According to the insanities of so-called Dispensationalism, periodically God works his magic outside the normal laws of the universe. Thus the whole story of humanity can be seen as a number of episodes (or "dispensations") brought to a close by the intervention of the Almighty. The Edenic period was brought to a close by the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden. The Antediluvian period ended with the flood, the Postdiluvian by the building of the Tower of Bable and the Patriarchal by the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Fable stacked upon fable.

We then enter the quasi-historical period of the Jewish law, designated the Legal dispensation, which ends with the imagined birth of Jesus. With JC's resurrection begins the Ecclesiastical period – the current epoch– which forecloses with the "rapture" of the church, when "saved Christians" will be whisked away to a joyous reunion with their Lord and Saviour and granted ring-side seats from which to savour the ungodly in their agonizing torment. Thus the final showdown is to be welcomed and encouraged rather than delayed and avoided.

The final, awful period, Tribulation, will be more terrible than any episode in human history. In seven years of apocalyptic meltdown, the bad guys will almost triumph. The Antichrist will appear and he will take the guise of a "one world" leader (see! can't trust the U.N.!). Half of the human race will die, the seas will turn to blood, and a third of the earth will be consumed by fire (see! famine, global warming – it all fits!). The shattering climax will be the second coming of JC, "in Glory".

Such is the lurid gore-fest of dispensationalism, the hope and anticipation of vindictive small minds who audaciously abrogate to themselves a claim to the American-Dream-That-Never-Ends, who think their own skins so precious and their souls so deserving of immortality. Dispensationalism is by no means a new idea, but a disturbing feature today is the mass support the delusion enjoys. Why do anything about humanity's obvious problems when the "King" is coming to reclaim his kingdom and believing Christians will get all the top jobs? Trouble is, the dispensationalists want the rapture to happen real soon and given half the chance would love to trigger Armageddon. They are not harmless nuts; they are dangerous nuts.

Biblical certainty

Joining the Elect

The hi-tech paraphernalia of secure and exquisite comfort necessitates continuous innovation and social change, but that change is seldom without surprises. Ironically, the introduction of uncertainty is profoundly disturbing to those who build their "comfort zone" on conservative principles and traditional values. They simply cannot handle unknowns which leave them ill at ease and uncertain how to react. New ideas, unfamiliar people, novel situations are therefore intrinsically threatening. Hand guns and semi-automatics only get you part of the way. For the Big Showdown, just around the corner, you need to line up some heavy-duty celestial dudes – God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Boy, are they gonna kick ass.

Fundamentalism exploits this psychotic need for certainty in an uncertain world. Family, Nation, God have a reassuring glow of immutability and permanence. They also absolve the individual of profound thought or individual judgement. My family first, my country right or wrong, in God we trust. Such individuals respond to formulaic systems which have all the answers ready prepared.

Four hundred years of critical scholarship can be brushed aside by the simple maxim that every verse of the Bible is a literal truth, not a contention for debate, the word of God to be accepted and regurgitated, not dissected and disputed. The rational questioning of scripture is attacked as "arrogance", with the caveat that revelation transcends the mere logic of man. Thus the world of the believer is kept "tidy" and uncompromised, his faith a fortress which will withstand the assaults of science or rationality.

The fundamentalist showman invokes the "family" metaphor at every opportunity, a "family" of which, of course, he is the wise patriarch, with a hot-line to God, and his adoring acolytes are "children". It is "family" in a truly traditional sense of the word, with emphasis upon rules, duties, dependency and obedience. It is an island of rectitude in a world of immorality, anarchy and evil.

The world is blessed to have an archipelago of such islands in the USA. Now if only they could take over the government ...

Pax Americana – or a thousand year Christ Reich?

"Dominion" (aka "Latter Rain", "Restorationism", "Kingdom Now" )

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." – Ephesians 4.11,13.

For the bigger personality, with more ambition than merely orchestrating emotional funfests and amassing a personal fortune, the prize of political power beckons. To rise above the commonality of Christian showmen – and there are a lot of them – special status is required. The theological sophistry of so-called "Restorationism" provides the required formula. Not content with "spiritual gifts" and prophesy, according to Restorationism God is restoring to his church the "fivefold ministry", which means apostles and prophets are again among us!

In simple terms, a return to the purity and structure of the early church (as it is supposed) is presented as a necessary precondition (and "sign") of the Lord's imminent return. The key element is that an apostle has elevated status – just like Peter, Paul and the rest of the gang – which means authority over the church. An apostle or a prophet, like a latter day Muhammad or Joseph Smith, can pronounce new doctrinal revelation with divine authority, give a new interpretation to established scripture and determine the whole direction of the church. And what purpose does this serve? Why, the taking of supreme power:

"Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost … As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors – in short, over every aspect and institution of human society." – James Kennedy, Coral Ridge Ministries (Christian Science Monitor, March 16,2005).

Under the banner of Christ, well-dressed demagogues espouse dangerously intolerant policies. One Church. A purging of wickedness. Judgement of the unrighteous. Torquemada and his Inquisitors would have been proud. In the rival brands of "Latter Rain", evangelical psychopaths wage war on the entire fabric of modern culture.

Hopes of a science-led, secular 21st century, now appear naively optimistic. The most powerful, richest, and most materialistic nation on Earth has renewed its love affair with tribal superstition, irrational paranoia and a morbid delight in hopes for an imminent Apocalypse.

The terrifying future: a world gathered under the hegemony of America, a world bending the knee to Christ.

CHRISTIAN ZIONISTS: HOLDING THE KILLERS' CLOAKS

CHRISTIAN ZIONISTS: HOLDING THE KILLERS' CLOAKS

By Harmony Grant

Prominent Israeli lawyer Ram Caspi recently called for mass killing of innocent Gazan civilians who already endure a circle of Dante’s inferno, inching through daily miseries toward a hopeless future. Caspi said the moment another rocket is fired at Israel, the Jewish state should cut off Gaza’s million and a half inhabitants from life—from “the essential infrastructure systems of fuel, water, electricity and telephones, and...prevent others from providing these utilities to Gaza.”

Need I comment on the barbarism of punishing innocents this way? International law—let alone basic morality and the law of God!—forbids inhumane treatment of noncombatants. Yet Gideon Levy observes in Haaretz, “Caspi is a successful attorney, who comes and goes in the tabernacles of justice and rule, a man who moves about in the highest reaches of Israeli society. Not a hair on his head has been mussed as a result of his satanic proposal.”

Levy mournfully cites quote after quote from Israeli racists calling for the slaughter of Palestinian Arabs. Caspi breathes this hatred among Israeli elite, while advising them on the law. Israel’s religious shepherds also preach such bloodlust. Former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu recently wrote Ehud Olmert to counsel that all Gazan civilians—men, women, newborn babies—are collectively guilty for rocket attacks on Israel. He said the Jewish state is morally entitled to kill them all.

Eliyahu’s son, also a rabbi, spoke to press about his father’s views. "If they don't stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand," he said. "And if they do not stop after 1,000 then we must kill 10,000. If they still don't stop we must kill 100,000, even a million. Whatever it takes to make them stop."

The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith smears Christians as “anti-Semites” if we believe or say Jewish leaders were responsible for the crucifixion of Christ 2,000 years ago—a fact of history. ADL works aggressively to keep anti-Semitism defined as the gravest social sin. In much of the western world, ADL has also made it a "hate" crime. Truthful examination of Jews, Judaism, or Israel is a ruinous, career-destroying path for any public figure. If you question the 6 million figure of the Jewish Holocaust, you can spend the next half decade behind bars. But actually call for a Palestinian holocaust—for the murder of living people—and you can climb the ranks of Jewish high society. ADL and so-called “progressive” Jewish advocacy groups are largely silent about the bloodthirsty racist words of evil men like Caspi and Eliyahu.

Christian Judeo-Amour

Christians seek to obey Jesus, the “Prince of Peace” who only blessed the merciful. How can that mean supporting a Jewish state where such statements are spoken by mainstream religious and litigious leaders?

Well-meaning evangelicals by the millions genuinely think it’s their Christian duty to “bless God’s chosen people” by refraining from criticism and offering virtually unlimited military, monetary, and moral support.

Such Christians consume an abundant diet of Christian Zionism, glorification of Judaism and villainization of Islamic militants. They have no room left for the possibility that Israel provoked Arab aggression by reducing millions to daily misery and political helplessness. They largely fail to wonder if Christ really smiles on the Chosen People as they continue to reject Him, describing Him with profanity and refusing to allow Christian evangelism. Among mainstream American Christians, there is virtually no meaningful dissent about Israel.

Instead of truth, pro-Jewish zealotry flows like wine. Richard Bartholomew, a blogger for Salon, recently reviewed “the latest crop of apocalyptical Christian Zionist and anti-Islamic titles from Christian publishers” advertised in Christian Retailing magazine. The magazine reports having already pre-sold lots of copies of Mike Evans’ The Final Move Beyond Iraq. Evans paints Iran’s Ahmadinejad as “a radical zealot bent on the destruction of the West and installation of a world Islamic system.”

More new releases include Culture Clash: Islam’s War on America and In Defense of Israel, by John Hagee. Major Christian publishers like Tyndale and Harvest House have made a fortune from Mideast titles that are staunchly pro-Zionist. Tim LaHaye, of Left Behind fame, has a new book set for release in September, Global Warning: Are We on the Brink of World War III? Bartholomew notes wryly that Tyndale is set to release a third edition of Armageddon, Oil and Terror: What the Bible Says About the Future of America, the Middle East, and the End of Western Civilization. Its supposedly solid predictions have already needed to be revised twice, but Tyndale has still sold more than 2 million copies.

Such books are attractive to many with their simplistic celebration of the US and shallow reading of Scripture. They pretend to explain complicated and frightening geopolitical reality with easy-to-follow plans: support Israel, support the war on terror, Muslims are evil, Jews and Christians are good.

This intellectual junk food fills tables across America because real truth about Israel and Judaic supremacism is forbidden in public. Many patriotic Christians will consider 2008 presidential candidates in light of the Islamophobia and devotion to the Jewish state they learn from FOX News and the pulpit. The same as Jews, they will ask: Who supports Israel and Bush’s war? Who is willing to use nukes on Iran?

Doubtful Brethren

The increasing Judaization of the evangelical church is also reflected in the growth of Messianic Judaism. Messianic Jews believe in Christ but also assert a Jewish identity. The Jewish Forward reports, “According to several movement leaders and scholars of religion, messianic Judaism is expanding rapidly in communities across the American South, a growing region of the country that is attracting new Jewish residents more generally.”

Forward quotes Derek Leman, who leads a Messianic synagogue in Atlanta: “In the Bible belt, you have many Christians who love Israel, so we attract more gentiles [to our services], plus there are a lot more intermarried couples down here than there would be in the Northeast.”

“It is a trend alarming to Jewish communal leaders,” says Forward. As more and more Gentile Christians become infatuated with Israel and the idea of Judaism, this cross-pollenization should worry more than Jewish leaders! The New Testament teaches that in Christ, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28) The growing popularity of a Christian/Jewish identity and Zionism should deeply concern any Christian pastor or layman with a working knowledge of the New Testament's warnings against Judaizers in the early church--"Christian Jews" who wanted to bring the church back into bondage to Old Testament and rabbinic observances and traditions.

One Good Man?

Speaking the whole truth about Jewish political power and activism today is personally costly—to reputation, relationships, and certainly to career. A person would have to be motivated either by great hate or by great love. It was great love that compelled St. Paul to rebuke the rabbinic leaders of his time and also Judaizers in the church who exalted manmade religion over redemption through Christ. Paul said love for Jews filled him with “sorrow and unceasing anguish” as he longed for his brothers to know the truth and submit to God.

The greatest compassion is God's intervention in our lives, revealing our depravity and offering escape. Humans can share God’s compassion by speaking the whole truth about evil acts, ideas, systems and even individuals.

Calling evil by its name is an act of love—especially when it carries personal cost. The person who will not speak truth about evil pays no social price. He also has no love. And he becomes complicit with that evil. Only truth offers hope of change, of repentance and salvation.

Christian leaders fear the whole truth about the Judaic agenda and believe their reputations and ministries will be destroyed if they speak this truth. They also believe Jews can’t bear the whole truth about the elite minority of evil leaders directing their Tribe. But the wisest, kindest Being who ever walked the earth—the Son of God—told us that when we know the truth, it will set us free. It is high time America’s Christian leaders acted as if they believed Him.

CHRISTIAN CANNIBALS
An argument of why Christians are cannibals (and possibly vampires) from Christianity's own perspective by Jim Walker (an ex-cannibal)
Originated: 07 January 2003
Additions: 10 July 2006

How many Christians realize that when they eat that wafer and drink the wine during communion service that they, in effect, practice cannibalism by the partaking in the eating of human flesh and blood?
I certainly did not know that when I underwent communion in my religious days. It sounds so innocent and benign; "Communion" imparts the concept of sharing thoughts and feelings, or so I thought. Oh how the priests fooled me. They used other obscure terms too, like "Eucharist" and "Sacrament of the Last Supper." At no time did a priest or deacon explain to me that I would share in the communal eating of the human flesh and blood of Jesus.
Cannibal: A person who eats the flesh of human beings.
Since Jesus represents an actual human being, and I ate him, that made me a cannibal. And if you have ever undergone communion, then you too fall into that category.
The Church tricked me and turned me into a cannibal!
Not only did I drink blood and eat flesh, but they made me do it in front of a statue of a bloody corpse hanging by nails on two pieces of lumber, a representation of the human whom I had just eaten. (Imagine eating a hamburger in front of an image of a freshly slain cow.)
When I discovered the shocking realization that I had eaten human flesh, and drank human blood I felt like vomiting. Where in the world did this morbid practice begin, I wondered. I reread the Bible for clues. Could that explain the mystery of the empty tomb of Jesus (Luke 24:3)? Did the disciples eat him?
Several Christians tried to console me by explaining that Communion only represents the symbolic eating of flesh, not the real thing (I later discovered that many Protestant Christians don't believe in the literal eating of Jesus, although some do). I felt relieved for awhile until other Christians told me otherwise (virtually all Catholics and Episcopalians believe in the literal interpretation). I began to do a bit of research for myself from the Catholic Church's own position. My stomach began to churn again as I discovered what communion and the Eucharist really means.
Communion
Communion, or "Holy Communion" as the Church officially calls it, means the actual reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. As the Catholic Encyclopedia puts it, "For real reception of the Blessed Eucharist it is required that the sacred species be received into the stomach. For this alone is the eating referred to by our Lord (John 6:58)."
So you can't just put it in your mouth and spit it out. Oh no. You have to make sure you swallow it into your stomach!
I looked up the Biblical chapter in John 6 and found this diabolical revelation:

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (John 6:53-55)
Egads, I thought. Jesus really wants them to EAT HIM! It would make perfect sense if the disciples did eat his dead corpse. Of course you wouldn't want to admit your cannibalism to the unbelievers and you'd have to explain the missing body to the authorities. You might say something like, "He is not here, but is risen..." (Luke 24:6). Yeah, right, that's the ticket.
Eucharist
Eucharist describes the name given to the "Blessed Sacrament of the Altar," (older religions also used blood sacrifices to an altar. Some used virgin humans, bulls, lambs, etc.). The Christians use it to mean an actual sacrifice by Jesus where they truly believe the bread and wine turns into the actual corporal flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. Christians also use other titles such as, "Table of the Lord" (Mensa Domini) or the morbid term, "Lord's Body" (Corpus Domini).
From the Catholic Church and as far back as the pronouncement from the Council of Trent, the quintessence of the Eucharist means that "the Body and Blood of the God-man ARE truly, really, and substantially present."
he Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), stresses the centrality of the Eucharist to Catholic life:
The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life.' The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, or Pasch.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1324
So if you practice Catholicism, and wish to remain a Catholic, you must honor the connubiality of the Eucharist. Not only does it mean eating the flesh and blood of Christ as a sacrifice, it means a union with the gore:
In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be untied with his offering.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1368
Moreover, you must never deny the priesthoods power of consecrating the flesh and blood:
If any one shall say that in the New Testament there is no visible and external priesthood nor any power of consecrating and offering the Body and Blood of the Lord, as well as of remitting and retaining sins, but merely the office and bare ministry of preaching the Gospel, let him be anathema.
Council of Trent, No. 961
Note: anathema means cursed, a malediction on your soul.
So how does bread and wine turn into actual flesh, you may ask? The Christians believe it comes from the concept of transubstantiation.
Transubstantiation
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Hildebert of Tours (~1079) probably first used the term transubstantiation and the Church later adopted the practice in the Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215) and the Council of Lyons (1274), and finally, the Council of Trent (1545-1563).
Transubstantiation basically means, the transition or conversion of one thing into another in some aspect of being. Turning water into wine gives one example of transubstantiation, and turning bread into flesh and wine into blood gives another. Transubstantiation, however, doesn't just describe a simple conversion of one thing into another but a substantial conversion (conversio substantialis). Transubstantiation differs from every other substantial conversion in this, that only the substance gets converted into another.

[Advice to the Church: Before converting the wine into blood, why not also transubstantiate water into wine? No need for expensive grape orchards, harvesting, or processing because Jesus would do the entire conversion for you for free. That way, you could give (or better yet, sell) bottles of wine to your congregations (you could call it "Jesus Juice"). You could establish Catholic wineries around the world! Just imagine the new converts you would get and, oh how your coffer cups would overflow. Just a thought.]
In the Eucharist, two extremes of conversions occur, namely the bread and wine as the terminus a quo, and the Body and Blood of Christ as the terminus ad quem (before and after). In other words, the substance of the bread and wine departs in order to make room for the Body and Blood of Christ.
Transubstantiation, as a conversion of the total substance, is the transition of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, comes as the express doctrine of the Church (Council of Trent, Sess. XIII, can. ii).
This theophagy (god eating) of course did not come first from the Catholics but had occurred throughout pagan religions long before Christianity. The notion that eating another living human being lies at the belief of absorbing his nature into his own, thus becoming, in some sense, more godlike, similar to the even more primitive belief that eating one's enemies makes one more powerful.
No true Christian should doubt it. Eating that wafer and drinking the wine in Church actually means truly and really eating human meat and blood. In fact, it's the entire body: eyes, brains, gall bladder, spleen, rectum, penis, testicles, etc. Everything. If you've ever watched the TV program, Fear Factor, that's nothing compared with eating the components of an entire human body. According to the Council of Trent, if you deny the Transubstantiation, then you are accursed (anathema). You will also get to spend eternity in hell.
Bon appetit!
How does transubstantiation work?
So how does transubstantiation actually work; what process does the Church use to transform bread and wine into human flesh and blood (and guts, etc.)? Apparently this remains a deep Church secret. However, we do know that the priests make verbal incantations, pass smoking incense about, and pray a lot during a rite they call "Offertory" (Offertorium). Apparently the actual transformation occurs during the Prayer of Consecration, by which the bread and wine cease to be bread and wine, and are converted into the flesh and blood of Christ. At just what miraculous moment during the prayer it turns into human flesh, I haven't clue and I suspect the priests don't either. Apparently Jesus does the actual conversion, but I haven't discovered the method of how the priests know when this occurs or what test procedures they use to insure that Jesus made the transubstantiation (what if Jesus got lazy that day or just decided, enough is enough?).
In any case, by the time the priest places the wafer into your mouth, you can rest assured that you are actually eating Christ's meat. (It tastes like chicken.)
We do know that an industry exists to make the bread and wine. For example, S&M (I kid you not) stands as one of the companies that make official communion bread for the Church:
If you don't know what S&M means, in colloquial terms it stands for sadomasochism or the practice of sadism (sadistic) and masochism (subjecting oneself to abuse or physical pain).
Now I doubt that this company's name means or intends a connection with sadomasochism, but it seems an appropriate term if you consider what the eating of human flesh means to the recipient or the giver of one's own flesh. I cannot think of another word than sadomasochism to better describe the act of consciously eating the flesh of a human from another person (a sadistic act) who willingly gives them their flesh and blood to eat (an extreme masochist act).
Frankwright Mundy & Co. Ltd. sells communical sets. They even offer briefcases and shoulder bags for carrying around the flesh and blood of Jesus. What next, I wondered; will they one day build fast food outlets where a Christian can get Jesus meat anytime of day? McJesus? Christ-In-A-Box? Considering the Bush administration's disregard for the Constitution, these chain restaurants could avoid taxes and get special federal funding as Faith-based institutions. We could all become cannibals!
Vampirism
Not only did I eat human flesh in my communion sacraments, but I also drank the "actual" blood of Jesus. Doesn't this make me a vampire also? Although vampires supposedly suck blood instead of drinking it, this seems an insignificant distinction. On the contrary, the drinking and the whole swallowing of blood as opposed to sucking seems to me a bit more bloodthirsty if you ask me.
If you consider the folklore surrounding vampire stories and compare them with the beliefs of Christianity, the claims appear similar. Vampire myths (see Dracula) and Christianity both believe that by drinking human blood, you will live forever. Actually Christianity goes one step further by requiring the eating of human flesh along with the blood (John 6:53-55). And of course you're also eating the penis of Jesus (does that make one gay, I wonder?) and the small and large intestines of Jesus, and the bladder of Jesus, etc. Only by this cannibalistic act can you achieve "eternal life."
Consider also that vampirism and their drinking of blood and immortality represent fiction, whereas Christians actually believe their communal drinking of blood and eating of Jesus' corpse will earn them eternal life. Doesn't this, at the very least, put Christian vampirism in a more deleterious light than fictional vampirism?
Note that the actual Dracula (not the fictional one) lived as a Christian. No doubt the real Dracula thoroughly enjoyed his communal ingesting of human blood.
Addiction?
Now I don't know why just one eating of flesh and drinking of blood won't get you to heaven, but I've yet to get a good explanation of why Christians need to eat flesh and blood every week. This continual practice of ritual cannibalism and vampirism brings up even more pressing questions about this gruesome practice. Does the act of communion lead to habitual use or an addictive need for more flesh and blood? Consider that Christians have done more to promote bloody wars throughout history than any other group, and their insistence on evangelizing every human on earth to their faith, should non-believers fear that the Christians might turn them into human flesh eaters too?
Another concern involves the length of time of transubstantiated bread and wine. Just how long does this conversion last? We now know that you must swallow it for its effect to work, but at what stage does it turn back into naturally digested bread and wine? Does it remain transubstantiated even after digestion? Does it ever reconvert? If not, consider what this means as we move our bowels. Should we not treat the remains of Christ as sacred, just as we do the remains of the bodies of dead saints? Perhaps we might consider a better form of elimination of the excrement made from our Redeemer than just thoughtlessly flushing Him down the toilet.
I find the practice of sacred cannibalism disturbing and potentially life threatening, regardless of how many of the addicted faithful tell us it will give us everlasting life. I humbly make the following proposal: that the FDA and the CDC get involved in the study of the composition of theTransubstantiated bread and wine and the narcotic or addictive effects they may impose on the human body.
I hope that I have alarmed you enough to contact your local law enforcement office and state representative about this pressing matter. If you and I don't do it, who will?
Conclusion
Even if you still stubbornly cling to the belief that the Eucharist represents only a symbol of eating flesh and drinking blood, that still makes you a cannibal, if only a symbolic cannibal. If you partake in communion as a metaphorical representation of eating Christ's body, then that still makes you a metaphorical cannibal. You simply have no easy out of this predicament as a symbolic cannibal sits as a subset of cannibalism.
You might also want to question the metaphorical or symbolic stance because if the Eucharist presents metaphor, then what does that say for Jesus himself and what Jesus directly says from the Bible about eating his meat? Metaphorical also? How do you distinguish between metaphor and reality in the Bible when it treats all doctrines equally as the inspired words of God? Would you object to the title of Symbolic Christian or Metaphorical Christian? If you consider yourself a metaphorical or symbolic Christian, then you still fall under the label of Christian just as a symbolic cannibal falls under the label of cannibal.

There simply exists no way out for a Christian to escape the cannibal label, except of course to exit Christianity entirely. I did just that and by doing so, I escaped cannibalism along with all the other nonsense. I wrote this article as satire but if you live as one of the millions of faithful that believe in the Bible and the doctrines of Christianity then you must take this article as a serious argument.

Christians are hypocrites

Christians are hypocrites

Christians, they love to talk about how loving, dutiful and compassionate they are, yet I have yet to meet ONE who does not practice hypocrisy to the highest degree. Their willful ignorance of the Bible combined with their two faced idealism to preach it, has made us sick, hasn’t it? For nearly two thousand years Biblicists have been lecturing people on the importance of adhering to the Bible’s teachings on ethics, manners, and morality. They quote Jesus and Paul profusely, with a liberal sprinkling of Old Testament moralism. The problem with their approach lies not only in an oft- noted failure to practice what they preach, but an equally pronounced tendency to ignore what the Bible itself, preaches. Christians practice what can only be described as “selective morality”. What they like, they cling to and shove down other’s throats; what they don’t like, they ignore vehemently. That which is palatable and acceptable is supposedly applicable to all; while that which is obnoxious, inconvenient, or self-denying is only applicable to those addressed 2,000 years ago. Their hypocrisy is so rampant that even the validity of calling oneself “Christian” is in question. I see so many people enjoy quoting the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and some of Paul’s sermons, but don’t even PRETEND to heed other, equally valid, maxims. I’ve mentioned pro-life and conservatism in other sermons. This one is going to sum up the rest of my beefs.

Hypocrisy of Marital Relationships: So many Christians try to rationalize this but it is clear that a true follower of Jesus can neither divorce someone nor marry someone who is divorced. There is an exception to the rule, however. If spouse commits adultery, divorce is permissible. On the same token, the Bible also says that anyone who obtains a divorce and marries another is in adulterer. Remember that 80% of this country is Christian yet we have a 50% divorce rate. A majority of divorces are a result of irreconcilable differences, not adultery, which implies that Christians are again practicing selective morality. How many Christians are working on a second, third or fourth marriage?

1) “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6 & Mark 10:9).

2) “Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:32, 19:9 & Luke 16:18).

3) "Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery" (Matthew 5:32).

4) "...whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her" (Mark 10:11 & Luke 16:18), which applies to women as well (Mark 10:12).

On to another beef: The Christian attempts to put prayer into schools run directly counter to biblical teachings. Jesus said prayer should be a private affair devoid of public display: "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room (or closet.) and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret..." (Matthew 6:5-6 RSV). Biblicists violate this on a regular basis and have no intention of correcting their behavior. They demand that evolution be taken out of the curriculum. They demand parochial school receive voucher programs so that they may collect public funding. Christians continuously pray in public, IE: churches, street corners, schools, courts, etc. yet all the while they never stop to think this is in direct violation to the god they pray to.

I, of course, know why this is voluntarily ignored. Public prayer forces the peers of school children to jump on the band wagon and pray. We are all aware that the church is simply a business which employs tactics similar to that of tobacco industries in recruiting consumers. Get the kids while they are young and vulnerable so that they become donating members of the church when they reach adulthood. I find it humorous that other businesses warn their consumers on the package that it is dangerous to one’s health while Churches don’t put warning labels on the bible for the pornography and immorality it contains. The psychological damage organized religion causes is notably prevalent. Cancer from smoking and cirrhosis from drinking is JUST AS HARMFUL as the psychosis believers develop concerning reality. The “I see demons” complex is more rampant in Christians then it is in acid dropping space cadets. I am not saying this as a joke. There are literal studies done on this topic and they are in accordance to what I am conveying here.

Christians always use the excuse that the above mentioned verse is some how “metaphorical” yet they take Paul’s maxim that men should pray with their heads uncovered very seriously. I assume this is generally followed because removing one’s hat isn’t particularly inconvenient. "Any man who prays or prophecies with his head covered dishonors his head…" (1 Corinthians 11:4 RSV). On the other hand, Paul’s tenet that women must keep their heads covered with a veil during prayer is quite inconvenient and, for this reason, has either been rationalized away or ignored, although it is no less binding than any other moral law in the New Testament: “…but any woman who prays or prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head… For if a woman will not veil herself, then we should cut off her hair: but if it be disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil… Judge for yourself; is it proper for a woman to pray to God with head uncovered?” (1 Corinthians 11:5-13 RSV) The selectivity in which these verses are followed SCREAMS hypocrisy.

More Commonly Ignored Teachings:

1) "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" (l Corinthians 11:14). How many freaked out long-haired, bible thumping Jesus freaks do you know? Perhaps this is just my experience, but I can name 12 such individuals off the top of my head. Surely, you can recall at least ONE LONG-HAIRED CHRISTIAN. The stereotypical version of CHRIST HIMSELF! Think of the numerous statues and pictures Christians adore depicting the lord appearing as that which he detests. One can not stop and wonder at the absurdity of this.

2) Another tenet clearly prohibits women from being ministers or otherwise speaking in church (“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak”-- 1 Corinthians 14:34). It’s difficult to see how Paul could support the current movement to ordain women. Why, Jesus would shit himself knowing that even I, an ATHEIST WOMAN, has managed to get herself legally ordained.

3) A third tenet prohibits men and women from wearing each other’s clothing (“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God”--Deuteronomy 22:5). Funny thing, two female Jehovah Witnesses came over this morning, they coffee clutched with my neighbor Jenny, a fellow Christian and ALL THREE of these women were wearing pant suits!

4) Ever watch these Christians on television and notice how their bowed heads uniformly shake amen while some evangelist goes on and on in prayer for a fucking hour? Well, repetitious and monotonous praying is in violation of Matthew 6:7. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

5) Christians are not supposed to take their disputes before non-Christian courts or judges. (“If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?” -- 1 Corinthians 6:1 NIV) How interesting! Considering that state is separate from church all courts are supposedly “ungodly”. Does this stop Christians from tying up the supreme court with law suits concerning school prayer, abortion, or numerous other absurdities? Hell no it doesn’t, and my taxes are paying the fucking bill for their hypocrisy!

6) Christian women are supposed to dress discreetly (“...that women should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire”--l Timothy 2:9 RSV; and “Let not yours be the outward adorning of braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing”-- 1 Peter 3 :3). Violations of these rules are too numerous to mention. Just visualize Tammy Faye Baker’s mascara laden eyes and gold encrusted wrists.

7) Here is perhaps the mother of verses ignored: “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) and “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged, condemn not and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). I have yet to meet a Christian who has not judged my atheism. The whole world is chalk full of judges, juries, voters, employers, teachers, etc. which are all constantly judging others.

8) Believers are supposed to hate their parents when they follow Jesus (“If any man come to me, and not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sister, yet, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Well, considering that Christians do not abandon their families but usually attempt to brainwash them they are all guilty of not following this verse. “It’s symbolic”, yeah, I know your lame ass defense to this one already.

9) They are not to oppose evil (“But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”-- Matthew 5:39). If this were followed one might just as well abolish law enforcement.

10) Biblicists are not allowed to call anyone “father” (“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). Not only is this rule ignored on a DAILY BASIS, but Catholicism uses “father” as a specific title.

11) Christians are not supposed to plan or prepare. God will provide (“Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or that ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on... Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, not gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feedth them. Are ye not much better than they?” --Matthew 6:25-34 & Luke 12:22-31 inclusive). I see Christian conservatives plot on a daily basis how to screw their employees so they can reap more profits.

12) Lastly, Jesus, who clearly is of greater importance than Paul, said the Old Law was to remain in force until heaven and earth passed away and all is accomplished (“For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven”-Matthew 5:18-19 RSV). Heaven and earth still exist and many prophecies are not yet fulfilled. How many times have you heard some lame ass Christian say “the Old testament doesn’t matter, Jesus was the lamb and abolished it”? Don’t let them get away with this shit for even the bible says that they should still be following the Old Law.

This verse leads me into an observation of how clear their selective morality can be exposed. Take for instance how Biblicists approach the Old Testament. They leap in and out of the Old Law like a porpoise in a ship’s wake. If they like it, they quote it; if they don’t, they won’t. Among the scores of verses they enjoy and employ are those which teach the following:

13) Contact with mediums or wizards is forbidden (“Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God”-- Leviticus 19:3 1 RSV, see also: Leviticus 20:6 & Deuteronomy 18: 10-12). Here’s an interesting little stat; Christians more then any other faith consult mystics and self-proclaimed oracles.

14) People should give one-tenth of their income to the Lord, which Biblicists equate with church (“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s...And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord”--Leviticus 27:30-32)

15) Tattoos are anathema: (“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you. I am the Lord”--Leviticus 19:28) Despite this teaching I manage to see Mexican Catholics daily with tattoos of the Virgin Mary, Jesus or a set of praying hands on their forearms and shoulder blades.

16) Money cannot be lent at interest to your brother, only to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23: 19-20) Ahhh, I’m recalling all the Christian banking corporations....

17) Eating pork is forbidden (Deuteronomy 14:8). Hmm, I’ve never met a Christian who DIDN’T enjoy bacon and eggs.

18) A man must marry and have relations with his dead brother’s wife (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). This goes without explaining of course.

19) A seducer must marry an unengaged virgin whom he seduces (Exodus 22:16-17)

20) A raped, unengaged virgin must marry her rapist and they can never divorce (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). What justice the “moral majority” advocates!

21) There are several petty and silly little verses in the O.T., but none the less, they are to be followed. I guess it’s okay to disobey the lord for fashion’s sake. Beards can’t be rounded (Leviticus 19:27); A garment composed of wool and linen can’t be worn (Deuteronomy 22:11); Note: this explains why you will commonly see orthodox Jews with the long beards and black clothing. I say Christians should do this too so we can identify their stupidity upon first impression.

22) Bastards can’t enter the Lord’s congregation. (Deuteronomy 23:2) Hey, I know this is harsh, but God commands it, hence it must be “just”.

All of these rules are part of the Old Covenant and of equal import. Why quote the Ten Commandments and ignore other tenets? A believer’s obligation to one is no less than his obligation to all. In fact, if under the New Covenant Christians have stepped into the shoes of the Israelites and become, in effect, the new Chosen People, then they should inherit all the privileges and duties of that office. They seem to want the former but not the latter. Biblicists teach, preach, and attempt to reach others with moralism, but are not averse to selectively using that which suits their interests.

I’d like to close this essay with how to catch a Christian in the act. When you see them expounding a verse and ignoring another, call them on it. I know what you’ll hear. They’ll say, “that’s from the Old Law and we aren’t under the Old Law anymore”. Trip them with this: “But aren’t the Ten Commandments part of the Old Law?” “Yes, but we are obligated to follow them because they are reported in the NT” (Matthew 19:16-18, Mark 10:17-19 & Luke 18:18-22). Immediately point out to them that Jesus omitted half of the Ten Commandments and invented a new one, “though shall not defraud” ! Before they can get a word in edge wise finish them off with: “According to scripture it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of law to fail” (Luke 16:17 & Matthew 5:18-19). If sin is transgression of the law, as 1 John 3:4 says, then you should be following all of the Old Law. This, from experience, is the best way to shoot down these idiots and bar them from getting away with their hypocrisy.

The Church of Theists Suck were written by Charlotte

Failed States: The US and Israel

Failed States: The US and Israel
By Paul Craig Roberts
Growing references by the US and Israel to the Muslim Middle East as a collection of failed states are part of the propaganda campaign to strip legitimacy from Muslim states and set them up for attack. These accusations spring from the hubris of many Israelis, who see themselves as "God’s Chosen People," a guarantee of immunity instead of a call to responsibility, and many Americans, who regard their country as "a city upon a hill" that is "the light of the world."

But do the US and Israel fit the profile of successful states - or are they failed states themselves?

A compelling case can be made that the US and Israel are failed states. Israel allegedly is a democracy, but it is controlled by a minority of Zionist zealots who commit atrocities against Palestinians in order to provoke terrorist acts that are then used to perpetuate the right-wing’s hold on political power. Israel has perfected blowback as a tool of political control. The Israeli state relies entirely on coercion and has no diplomacy. It stands isolated in the world except for the US, which sustains Israel’s existence with money, military weapons, and the US veto in the United Nations.

Israel survives on life support from the US. A state that cannot exist without outside support is a failed state.
What about the United States?

The US is an even greater failure. Its existence is not dependent on life support from outside. The US has failed in another way. Not only has the state failed, but the society as well.

The past six years have seen the rise of dictatorial power in the executive and the collapse of the separation of powers mandated by the US Constitution. The president has declared himself to be "The Decider." The power to decide includes the meaning and intent of laws passed by Congress and whether the laws apply to the executive. President Bush has openly acknowledged that he disobeyed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and unlawfully spied on Americans without warrants. Bush and his Attorney General could not make it more clear that their position is that Bush is above the law.

It is also Bush’s position that he is above the Constitution. Bush and his Attorney General maintain that as commander-in-chief in "the war on terror," the executive has the power to decide the applicability of civil liberties guaranteed in the Constitution. The US Department of Justice (sic) has taken the position that this decision is an executive decision alone beyond the authority of the judiciary and the legislature.

An enfeebled and eviscerated Congress has acquiesced in the growth of executive power, even legislating unconstitutional executive powers into law. The Decider has grabbed the power to arrest people on accusation alone and to detain them indefinitely without charges or evidence. He has obtained the right to torture those whom he arrests. The Geneva Conventions do not apply to the US president, declares the Regime. Bush has obtained the right to commit people to death in military tribunals on the basis of hearsay and secret evidence alone.

The Bush Regime has succeeded in moving the American state off the basis on which the Founding Fathers set it.

The Bush Regime led the American people to war in Iraq based entirely on lies and deception. This is a known and undisputed fact. Congress has done nothing whatsoever about this monstrous crime and impeachable offense.

Under the Nuremberg standard, unprovoked aggression is a war crime. The US established this standard. Bush has violated it with impunity.

Bush and his Attorney General assert Bush’s power to attack Iran independently of a Congressional declaration of war or any form of congressional approval. Bush claims that his power to attack Iran is merely an extension of his present power to conduct war in Iraq, a power seized on the basis of lies and deception.

Congress has taken no action to disabuse Bush of his presumption.

Bush’s preparations for attacking Iran are highly visible. The entire world can see the preparations and expects the attack. Congress is mute in the face of a catastrophic widening of a war to which a large majority of the American people are now opposed.

In national elections three months ago, the American people used democracy in an unsuccessful attempt to restrain the Bush Regime from its warmongering ways by defeating the Republican Party and giving control of both houses of Congress to Democrats.

Instead of acting, the Democrats have postured.

Indeed, some have joined Bush in his warmongering. Hillary Clinton, regarded as the frontrunner for the Democratic Presidential nomination, recently declared at an affair hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a leading instigator of war with Iran, that Iran is a danger to the US and a great threat to Israel.

Hillary’s claims are preposterous. Israel has large numbers of nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Iran has none. Iran has no ability to harm the US and would have no motive except for the Bush Regime’s gratuitous provocations.

A state in which a leading contender for the presidential nomination can make utterly absurd claims and suffer no consequence is a failed state.

The United States is a failed state, because in the US it is not possible for leadership to emerge. Politics is controlled by powerful interest groups, such as AIPAC, the military-industrial complex, transnational corporations, and "security" agencies that are accumulating vast amounts of unaccountable power. The American people spoke in November and it means nothing whatsoever.

The people are enfeebled because the media no longer has independence. The US media serves as propagandist for the state. It cannot be otherwise in a highly concentrated media run not by journalists but by advertising executives protecting stock values that derive from federal broadcast licenses granted by the state.

Like the three monkeys, Congress sees no evil, the media speaks no evil, and the people hear no evil. In the US"news" consists of the government’s propaganda."News" in America is exactly like the "news" in George Orwell’s 1984.

The US is a failed state, because it is not true to any of the principles upon which it was established. All over the world today, America is seen as a rogue state, a hegemonic evil, and as the greatest threat to peace and stability. In its new identify, America is the total opposite of the Founding Fathers intention. There is no greater failure than that.

Academics differentiate between failed states and rogue states. The US and Israel meet both criteria. The US and Israel lead the world in aggressive military actions and in killings of civilian populations. Both countries meet the main indicators of failed states as published in Foreign Policy’s 2005Failed States Index.

The leading indicators of failed states are inequality (not merely poverty), "criminalization or delegitimization of the state, which occurs when state institutions are regarded as corrupt, illegal, or ineffective," and "demographic factors, especially population pressures stemming from refugees" and "internally displaced populations."

All economic indicators show that income and wealth inequality is rapidly increasing in the US. The growth in inequality is the result of the state’s policy that favors shareholders and corporate executives at the expense of American workers.

The income differences between Israelis and ghettoized Palestinians are huge.

Trials and investigations of leading political figures in the US and Israel are an ongoing occurrence. Currently, the former chief-of-staff of the vice president of the US is on trial for lying to the FBI in an attempt to obstruct an investigation into the Bush Regime’s illegal disclosure of an undercover CIA operative. The accused claims he is the fall guy for higher ups.

In Israel the president of the country is accused of rape and faces indictment.

Both the US and Israel routinely ignore international law and are accused of committing war crimes by human rights organizations. The US Congress stands revealed as totally ineffective and unwilling to constrain the executive. The American people have learned that they cannot change the government’s policies through elections. By fomenting the demise of the civil liberties that they are sworn to uphold, President Bush and Attorney General Gonzales have delegitimized the American state, turning it into an instrument of oppression.

Israel’s policies in the West Bank have displaced a million Palestinians, forcing them to be refugees from their own land. Jordan is filled with Palestinian refugees, and Palestinian existence in the West Bank is being increasingly confined to ghettos cut off from farm land, schools, medical care and from other Palestinians. President Jimmy Carter has described Israeli-occupied Palestine as "apartheid."

For decades in theface of public opposition the US government has encouraged massive legal and illegal immigration of diverse peopleswhose failure to assimilate is balkanizing the US population.Economic refugees from Mexico are changing the culture and allegiance of entire sections of the American southwest, andracial animosities are on the rise.

In arecent interview, Noam Chomsky defined one characteristic of a failed state as a "democratic deficit, that is, a substantial gap between public policy and public opinion." We see this gap in Bush’s decision to escalate the war in Iraq despite the opposition of 70% of the American public. What does democracy mean if elected leaders ignore public opinion?

Another characteristic of failed states is the failure to protect their own citizens. Israel’s aggressive policies against Palestinians provoke terror attacks on Israeli citizens. These attacks are then used to justify more oppression of Palestinians, which leads to more terror. Bush’s military aggression in the Middle East is the main cause of any terror threats that Americans now face.

Another characteristic of a failed state is the departure of citizens. Many Israelis, seeing no future for Israel in the government’s hostility to Arabs, are leaving Israel. Among Israelis themselves, the legitimacy of the Israeli state is so endangered that the Knesset has just passed a law to revoke the citizenship of "unpatriotic" Israelis.

In the US a large percentage of the population has lost confidence in the government’s veracity. Polls show that 40% of Americans do not believe the government’s story that the 9/11 attacks were the work of Arab terrorists. Many believe the attack was a "false flag" operation carried out by elements in the Bush Regime in order to create public acceptance for its planned invasions in the Middle East.

A state that cannot tolerate moral conscience in its soldiers is a failed state. The failure of the American state can be seen it its prosecution of Lt. Ehren Watada. Watada comes from a family with a military heritage. His response to the 9/11 attack was to join the military. Diagnosed with asthma, he failed his physical, but persevered and ended up with an officer’s commission.

Watada’s problem is that he can recognize a war crime even when it is committed by a might-makes-right state. The Abu Ghraib prison tortures and the evidence that Bush deceived Americans about weapons of mass destructioncaused Watada to realize that he was on the wrong side of the Nuremberg Principles, the UN Charter, and the US military code, which says American soldiers have an obligation to disobey unlawful orders. He signed up to serve his country, not to kill people for illegal and immoral reasons.

Watada refused to deploy to Iraq. He is being tried for refusing deployment and for suggesting that President Bush deceived Americans.
By now every attentive American knows that Bush deceived them, and our greatest patriots have said so. Watada is on trial for suggesting what everyone knows to be true. He is not being tried for veracity. He is being tried for speaking the truth.

Failure to deploy is a more understandable charge. There is no army if soldiers do not follow orders. However, as the US established at the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal, following orders is not an excuse for participating in war crimes. At the Nazi war crimes trials, it was the US that insisted that soldiers were responsible for using judgment about the legality of their orders.

That is what Lt. Watada did. His trial will not broach the subject of whether his judgment was correct. The evidence against him will merely be that he did not deploy.

By trying Lt. Watada the US government is insisting that American troops are not responsible for judging the legality of their orders, only for following them. The standard applied to WW II Germans is too high to be applied to Americans.

In a draft army, Watada’s refusal to accept illegal orders could be used by conscripted cannon fodder to derail the state’s intended aggression. However, in a voluntary army in which soldiers seek to serve, permitting Lt. Watada to have his conscience does not imperil the command structure. Others less thoughtful and less aware will carry forth the state’s enterprise.

The case against Israel and the US does not preclude some Muslim states from also meeting the criteria for failure. However, Iraq, an artificial creation of Western colonial powers, was driven into failure and civil war by American aggression. Iran, a nation with a 5,000 year history, is certainly not a failed state. The main failed states in the Middle East are those that are US puppets. They represent American hegemony, not the interests of their people.

What the US and Israel are attempting to do is to turn the entire Muslim Middle East into failed states, that is, into puppet regimes. By extending their hegemony in the Middle East, the US and Israel hope to prolong their own failed existence.
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