The fact that I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus and have been for over 50 years is WHY I have "left wing ideas".
The fact that I am a Christian is WHY I have worked for, and continue to work for, civil rights and human rights for every person, male or female, White or Black or Hispanic or Asian or Native American - even those who were not lucky enough to be born in one of the 50 United States.
I was raised in what is known as the "Social Gospel" - the Christian faith practiced as a call not just to personal conversion but to social reform. We Christians do our best to apply Jesus' teachings from the Four Gospels to social problems such as poverty, slums, poor nutrition and education, alcoholism, crime, and war.
We Christians do not follow the religion of Americhristianity that many follow but claim it to be Christianity - as a friend, Christian minister John Pavlovitz, describes it,
Americhristianity is a Frankensteined faith made of rabid nationalism, political posturing, and fearful self-preservation. Our Jesus; (the one from the Gospels that we Christians follow) really doesn’t fit into Americhristianity. He’s too soft, too tolerant, too vulnerable. He’s not brash enough, his foreign policy not tough enough. Americhristianity retains only the smallest sliver of Christ; conveniently just enough to get people saved or send them to Hell.
Outside of that, Americhristianity is purely Stars and Stripes and American Dreams, all wrapped around a cross.
Americhristians are perfectly content to demand revenge when they get hurt, perfectly content to live fat and happy surrounded by poverty, and perfectly content to pick fights whenever they are confronted - confident that Jesus approves of all of it. Americhristians are not sinister in this, just oblivious.
They have been led to believe that Americhristianity is the real Christianity - and that the Christianity of those of us who try to follow Jesus' teachings is heresy, un-Godly, apostate, liberalism and vaguely Socialism- maybe even Communism.
Outside of that, Americhristianity is purely Stars and Stripes and American Dreams, all wrapped around a cross.
Americhristians are perfectly content to demand revenge when they get hurt, perfectly content to live fat and happy surrounded by poverty, and perfectly content to pick fights whenever they are confronted - confident that Jesus approves of all of it. Americhristians are not sinister in this, just oblivious.
They have been led to believe that Americhristianity is the real Christianity - and that the Christianity of those of us who try to follow Jesus' teachings is heresy, un-Godly, apostate, liberalism and vaguely Socialism- maybe even Communism.
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