Religious charlatans like Speaker MAGA Mike, exploiting a basic human urge to know the unknowable, to touch the mystery of life, are the most dangerous of all the various types of con men on Earth…
How ‘Christian’ Are White Christian Nationalists? Judge for yourself with this infographic which contrasts ten fundamental Christian beliefs with what Republicans 'preach' versus what they 'practice'.
Someone like Thom, but more aggressive. I admire Thom, however I remember his show years ago, where he would "debate" libertarians and Republicans. They gladly appeared on his show, as he would not only be respectful, but allowed them to filibuster, lie and mislead, and have he last word.
The last word leaves a lasting impression, and is a huge mistake.
From a business point of view, I can understand why, never the less it left a sour taste in my mouth, Especially after the interview or debate and after the liar had the last word, he would not correct the lies and misinfo, as that would turn off prospective guests.
I also remember the experience of Rachel Maddow, she interviewed Rand Paul, called him out on his bullshit, and from that moment on, no libertarian, right winger, or Republican would appear on her show, so she changed her format into a single subject pedantic rant. She is doing better these days though.
On the other hand I give her props for standing her ground on Bill Maher, when his guests numbered three, as Republicans and Libertarians are famous for, one of them launched into a filibuster, talking over her, and not allowing her to object or talk (I hold Maher to blame, he doesn't want to alienate "libertarian" guests, or right wingers with whom he agrees on his pet shit list, of liberalism, woke, cancel culture, "he is anti vaxx and anti medicine (science) because the COVID pandemic cost him money and attention, and he does need attention, in that he is just like Trump.
His hypocrisy showed when he was questioned about his position against cancel culture, but had nothing to say about cancel culture and book burning on the right. His response was "it doesn't affect me".
William Farrah: I remember a Saturday show on “Air America” called “Ring of Fire” with RFK jr. and a lawyer named Mike Papantonio who would shred right wingers and their views. Think they called it a “Pap Attack”. It was quite entertaining.
Never listened to Air America. The name is Farrar, not Farrah. Farrah for Farrar is actually a variation I never head of. Ferror, Ferrar, Farrer, Farrow, Fairer, Pharo, Farra yes, but not Farrah.
What am I suppose to make of your comment? As you brought RFK jr, into it, is that a slight of hand insult towards me. I detest RFK Jr, the man is a real nut case, do you equate me to RFK Jr?
It rubbed me the wrong way, because there was no explanation about RFK jr, and I never heard of him, since he was an infant (I am that old) and all that I know of him is that he is a real nut case, and a threat to democracy. I absolutely detest legacy brats, do nothings, that survive only because of rich parents.
Thanks for explaining the misspelling, I am no familiar with autocorrect, My computer has spell check, not auto correct, Must be a cell phone thing, and I have gotten by just fine without a cellphone, and given viruses and tracking and identify theft, I see no sense in starting today.
A landline or as the kids today call it a homephone, I am just fine, except that I have these yokels from call centers in India or Philipinnes waking me up at 6 AM with b.s.
Sorry David, Hope that answers your question.
The internet is so hard on communication, and worse if using your thumbs for typing and a cell phone :) I still use the old ASCII code for emoji'.
Wow! How do you do it? One great piece after the other! Thank you! It always amazes me how so many who profess to be religious do not understand nor practice the idea that God is love. Be kind. Walk the walk.
Simply put, everything in every "good book" came right out of someone's imagination. Frankly, I think The Bible is a hot mess, and that's what we will have in Mike Johnson's version of government. Putin must have laughed and roared mightily when he saw the footage. That's the bad news.
The good news is organized religion is losing its grip in the USA. The horror in the Mid-East is forcing young people here to think about what it has done there. The SCOTUS rulings, shootings, and hate crimes are forcing them to think about what part religion plays. They will vote.
Mike and Mrs. Johnson, I'd like to introduce you to the relentless scrutiny you and your family will be facing. You asked for it, but I'll bet you never imagined how bad it can get.
As always, thank you Thom. Yours are the only Bible lessons I am listening to these days.
If nature or man did not want man to think, man would not have a brain. You either use your brain or you will lose your brain. The lying narcissistic psychopaths hiding behind the holy books have indoctrinated billions of children to think just like them. So much so, they actually believe that Trump won the election and that protecting the environment is to serve Satan, and that is just the beginning. Most of this was funded at taxpayers expense also. If you have to convince someone that truth, reality and science is Antichrist, it is too late for them. Instead of being taught to think rationally in church, they were taught to harm others and to lie. If they keep going on their projected path, the human race will enter another dark age on steroids with global warming and modern technology.
Johnson only got the job because their "superstar" con man George Santos is on the way out. Not much left to choose from - no sane member of the House would put their name forward - so it looks like you're stuck with Johnson; better brush up on your Bible so you're able to see what's coming down the pipe.
Nothing will get done legislatively until a few non maga Republicans in the house are horrified by their complicity in the unanimous republican vote for Johnson as speaker and join with the Democrats and get rid of him.
A likely government shutdown, along with revulsion of MTG, Boebert, Gosar, Fox, Santos and others, should finally flush the Trump and maga era out of US politics. If not, then a clean sweep of the Presidency and both houses of Congress by the Democrats in 2024 could do the trick. I believe it is possible.
While this is a grave concern indeed, I am far more concerned with Biden's complicity in Israel's religious crusades in Palestine. All of this comes home to roost Thom, and it's difficult to weed out theocracy here when we so wholeheartedly support the theocracies around the globe that are economically and geopolitically beneficial to us regardless of their illegal and amoral behavior.
So the Jihadist with a Jewish name, chastises Israel for a religious crusade
Now let's talk about a religious crusade.
Preamble to the HAMAS Covenant
: ″Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam invalidates it, just as it invalidated others before it″.
Article 7 of the HAMAS covenant, (same as sahih 1296 and 1295, Haddith of al Bukhari, book 56 haddith 139
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).
The Slogan of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Eight:
Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.
I checked the HAMAS charter on wikipedia, and it is a whitewash, you have to do some research on the links embedded in their version of the charter.
My answer would be, of course we can “Stop MAGA Mike & the GOP from Inflicting Their Crusades on America.” However, to stop their pseudo-“Christian” grift, we have to work outside of traditional processes (i.e., the public sector whores of DC ) and collaborate with a critical mass of our fellow citizens (and the fourth estate) to fix things. Our current cast of elected (and appointed) officials are too tainted by the powers of corporate personhood to ever choose to satisfy their Constitutional purpose. And let’s face it, they are in office in the first place because they are more than willing to do things adverse to our rights and our communities’ interests. Therefore, we need to replace these evildoers with competent and progressive citizens that will get the job done. It will just take the strategic application of sustained nonviolent resistance using 21st century know how and our Constitutional rights.
If Swift told her followers that it was a good idea to petition all of their elected officials (and candidates for public office) with a simple request to get their grievances redressed, I think they would do it without question. Especially if it were as easy as sending a simple email request to set our citizens' expectations for when they're serving in office. Specifically, Swifties should expect that our elected officials will pledge to satisfy their Constitutional purpose. A great benefit of setting expectations is that it allows us to seize the framing, narrative and messaging around the relationship between our citizens and our elected officials. In addition, Swift's fans should understand that the powers of corporate personhood are destroying our country and until that is remedied, our democracy will continue its backslide into autocracy.
To do it successfully, the best proven strategy to end tyranny requires 3.5% of us engaged in sustained nonviolent resistance. I am sure that she could inspire a lot more than 12 million to participate in the petition, and then leverage their votes to get a supermajority of competent progressives elected in 2024.
Methinks the question Thom raised was for the purpose of raising an issue. Consider all the facts, and draw your own conclusion. It does't look so good.
In my case it is because the Republicans have already passed voter suppression and voter negation laws in states where they are the majority in the state legislatures. Take NC for example, a purple state, in which Democratic and anti bigot voters, had a say in local and national politics, it is now, because of Jerrymandering and laws, a pretty solid religious bigot state.
The Republicans, once again, have secured the path for Trump and his legion of zombies.
I fear a repeat of 2016, where he loses the popular vote, but wins the electoral vote, all because of the apathy of people most affected by the Republicans misogynistic, xenophobic, racist, homophobic culture war. An apathy induced by our corporate and privately owned media, be it ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, not discounting the power of the pulpit, which is inherently right wing and fascist inclined.
The reference to Matthew 25 is excellent but it omits the negative corollary:
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Somehow the evangelicals never mention Matthew 25 - one could wonder why, but no - the text itself condemns them.....
As Presiding Bishop Michael Curry likes to say, "If it's not about love, it's not about God." Jesus was more concerned with building the reign of God on earth than he was about heaven and what did he do? He healed sick people, he fed multitudes, and he welcomed outcasts.
Can we also stop the grooming of children to become psychopaths? Will we ever be able to curtail unlimited greed? Will we be able to meet all the needs of all the babies? The Doomsday clock is ticking and nature is about to put the hammer down with global warming. Now would be a good time to organize like-minded people to get off the grid and become self-sufficient as soon as possible. Just in case the smell of blood and war becomes too much for the right-wing Christians to ignore. All this Israel and Ukraine conflict, is making them want a bloodbath as well, until they get one.
Human beings are herd animals who need a complex ecosystem to survive aka communities in place. Our shared Earth IS The Grid. What we all need is to lift these diseased political and corporate global parasites and conflict junkies off her and our backs.🐈⬛
There is something so utterly repugnant in preying on those whom are praying in true innocence. To usurp people's faith exclusively for the ungodly endeavors of power and wealth is about as evil as evil is. The sales and marketing team of Christ Co have heisted some of our very best people - and in exploiting their innocence - have duped them into supporting the very spirit of deceit itself. It truly hurts my heart.
The guise of divinity is eternal in its service to the profane.
Yes! that's telling it like it is. Modern White Supremacist Christians don't even come close to actually being Christian in their faith or their behaviours. Unfortunately, since you, Thom, and the rest of us who follow your "teachings" know, we are the woke left and for some incomprehensible reason, waking up seems to be out of fashion these days. My leftist father would be rolling in his grave if he had one seeing what has happened to the country he loved and believed in. He elected to be cremated and we scattered his ashes in places he loved.
Excellent and way overdue. I am not a card carrying ( so to speak) religious person but I do know what it was supposed to be about and entitlement is definitely not it. More and more that seems to be the current interpretation and use of religion. Speaking of interpretations, my personal view is that communism has never materialized anywhere as the name would suggest that it might be. Generally it has suffered from entitlement as well showing itself as autocratic dictatorships that seek to control the human march on one foot. One of the things I learned in boot camp was how to march. Left...right...left...right...left...right and so on. It is basic. Learning how to walk with conviction rather than sloughing about. What becomes clear is that if you right...right...right and never left you will eventually fall over. The same is true if you left...left...left. So one learns to use both feet for more distance with better results.
Mr. Hartman. I applaud you for taking on religious fraudsters, con artists. I cannot stop myself from thinking you are falling into the trap of addressing these dangerous people by using their concepts, their language. That is, you are using the concepts of religion, the very phenomenon which SHOULD be attacked. You are critiquing those people who are advocates for that phenomenon not the phenomenon itself. Perhaps we should direct our attention away from an individual (in this case Mr. Johnson) and instead analyze religion itself. On the surface it seems you are doing just that; critiquing Religion. But you are not. You are critiquing Mr. Johnson and you are doing this by using his language. This is a method of indirect criticism of the subject of Religion. This weakens your position considerably because it narrows your field of thought to that which is permitted by the religious adherent's thinking. Your comments remind me of the book DON'T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT by the Linguist George Lakoff, 2004. Which all critical thinkers should read, especially Liberals and Democrats.
You say "Religion has persisted throughout human history because we are wired to experience awe. Some find the presence of the divine when looking at stars in the night sky; some find it in childbirth and child-rearing; some find it in prayer and meditation." You may be correct in saying "we are wired to experience awe." "Whether religious or secular, this ability to stand dumbstruck and in awe before the grandeur of creation is a universal human trait." (You are writing beautifully, poetically. You often do. It is one of the reasons many of us enjoy reading you.) I do not know with certainty if I agree or disagree that this is a universal human trait. I am inclined to disagree. I do not believe there is empirically, acceptable anthropological evidence to believe that any "universal traits" exist inherently in humans.
Recent evidence summarized by David Wengrow and the late David Graeber in THE DAWN OF EVERYTHING, A New History of Humanity, 2021, throw such ideas into doubt.
Regardless of how one stands on this issue, I do not believe it is a good idea to limit our critique to an examination of individuals and what may or may not be born into us. We can examine Religion itself, being very careful about how we use words like "divine." When we examine it, we see that religion is an effective mechanism of human social control. All religions have one thing in common: they all have rules about behavior. These rules control our behavior. In the words of the Structural Functionalists: "The function of religion is control." By the use of the term "function'" in this context I mean that an institution's contribution to the survival of society is called its "function." Any phenomenon which contributes to the survival of the group is likely to continue to exist from generation to generation. So Religion continues to exist because it is conducive to survival.
How does religion contribute to survival? By bringing people together (often physically together in synagogs, mosques, temples, mass celebrations and rituals, churches, etc.) Religion is a kind of metaphorical human glue. It draws us together in many subtle almost invisible, yet powerful ways. It binds us into groups. Groups are much more likely to survive than isolated individuals, for many obvious reasons. Adults must care for human infants or the species will not survive. This rearing of infants is accomplished by the institution of the Family, a universal kind of human group found in all societies. One can easily find other examples of human groups which are essential in some way: economic, political, medical, educational, etc.
Finally, back to individuals: my experience of awe without the inclusion of any religious ideas like "divine:" At the age of 15 I looked into the night sky, was awed by what I saw and experienced nothing divine. The universe seemed to me to be endless in its physical dimensions, timeless and with neither beginning nor end. There is no such thing as "time." Time is a mythical invention of humans which is helpful to us. When I was a little older I touched my newborn daughter for the first time and experienced an epiphany devoid of any religious meaning. I realized without doubt, that I could love another human being more than myself. Nothing "divine." No " god." Only my daughter.
We must accept that some things in the universe are simply beyond our ability to understand. It is not a question of Epistemology. How do we come to "know" what we "know?" We can find some answers to this question. But we eventually bump up against barriers, beyond which we cannot go. As for Cosmology, the question of what is out there for us to perceive; again we can acquire some knowledge. But, again we bump up against barriers which might never come down. We do not need a "god" to explain anything. I do not know why I love my children. I just do, and I need no divine explanation. The Universe is. I think. Therefore I am. Cogito ergo sum. Rene Descartes.
The problem is not the holy books, the problem is the psychopaths interpreting the holy books. Inequality of wealth will just create more mentally ill narcissists and psychopaths. Struggling to survive and poverty creates a lot of anger and dishonesty. The snowball effect. The rich have learned to protect their wealth while letting the poor eat their own.
How ‘Christian’ Are White Christian Nationalists? Judge for yourself with this infographic which contrasts ten fundamental Christian beliefs with what Republicans 'preach' versus what they 'practice'.
https://thedemlabs.org/2023/11/01/speaker-mike-johnson-religion-politics-hides-white-christian-nationalism/
I'd like to see someone like Thom debate the leaders of major denominations that need an epiphany. They need that old time social gospel.
The south needs the second coming of Jimmy Carter.
Someone like Thom, but more aggressive. I admire Thom, however I remember his show years ago, where he would "debate" libertarians and Republicans. They gladly appeared on his show, as he would not only be respectful, but allowed them to filibuster, lie and mislead, and have he last word.
The last word leaves a lasting impression, and is a huge mistake.
From a business point of view, I can understand why, never the less it left a sour taste in my mouth, Especially after the interview or debate and after the liar had the last word, he would not correct the lies and misinfo, as that would turn off prospective guests.
I also remember the experience of Rachel Maddow, she interviewed Rand Paul, called him out on his bullshit, and from that moment on, no libertarian, right winger, or Republican would appear on her show, so she changed her format into a single subject pedantic rant. She is doing better these days though.
On the other hand I give her props for standing her ground on Bill Maher, when his guests numbered three, as Republicans and Libertarians are famous for, one of them launched into a filibuster, talking over her, and not allowing her to object or talk (I hold Maher to blame, he doesn't want to alienate "libertarian" guests, or right wingers with whom he agrees on his pet shit list, of liberalism, woke, cancel culture, "he is anti vaxx and anti medicine (science) because the COVID pandemic cost him money and attention, and he does need attention, in that he is just like Trump.
His hypocrisy showed when he was questioned about his position against cancel culture, but had nothing to say about cancel culture and book burning on the right. His response was "it doesn't affect me".
Apologies for going off on my own rant.
The American 'sheep' culture carries on.
Turn of your TVS.
Turn of mainstream press!
William Farrah: I remember a Saturday show on “Air America” called “Ring of Fire” with RFK jr. and a lawyer named Mike Papantonio who would shred right wingers and their views. Think they called it a “Pap Attack”. It was quite entertaining.
Never listened to Air America. The name is Farrar, not Farrah. Farrah for Farrar is actually a variation I never head of. Ferror, Ferrar, Farrer, Farrow, Fairer, Pharo, Farra yes, but not Farrah.
What am I suppose to make of your comment? As you brought RFK jr, into it, is that a slight of hand insult towards me. I detest RFK Jr, the man is a real nut case, do you equate me to RFK Jr?
Just asking.
William Farrar: The misspelling was due to auto correct and my lack of proof reading, not intentional at all.
RFK jr. and Mike Papantonio were co hosts. RFK jr. is a lot different now. I don’t care for him either. Not sure why that rubbed you the wrong way.
It rubbed me the wrong way, because there was no explanation about RFK jr, and I never heard of him, since he was an infant (I am that old) and all that I know of him is that he is a real nut case, and a threat to democracy. I absolutely detest legacy brats, do nothings, that survive only because of rich parents.
Thanks for explaining the misspelling, I am no familiar with autocorrect, My computer has spell check, not auto correct, Must be a cell phone thing, and I have gotten by just fine without a cellphone, and given viruses and tracking and identify theft, I see no sense in starting today.
A landline or as the kids today call it a homephone, I am just fine, except that I have these yokels from call centers in India or Philipinnes waking me up at 6 AM with b.s.
Sorry David, Hope that answers your question.
The internet is so hard on communication, and worse if using your thumbs for typing and a cell phone :) I still use the old ASCII code for emoji'.
A great link Deepak, thanks.
Wow! How do you do it? One great piece after the other! Thank you! It always amazes me how so many who profess to be religious do not understand nor practice the idea that God is love. Be kind. Walk the walk.
Simply put, everything in every "good book" came right out of someone's imagination. Frankly, I think The Bible is a hot mess, and that's what we will have in Mike Johnson's version of government. Putin must have laughed and roared mightily when he saw the footage. That's the bad news.
The good news is organized religion is losing its grip in the USA. The horror in the Mid-East is forcing young people here to think about what it has done there. The SCOTUS rulings, shootings, and hate crimes are forcing them to think about what part religion plays. They will vote.
Mike and Mrs. Johnson, I'd like to introduce you to the relentless scrutiny you and your family will be facing. You asked for it, but I'll bet you never imagined how bad it can get.
As always, thank you Thom. Yours are the only Bible lessons I am listening to these days.
If nature or man did not want man to think, man would not have a brain. You either use your brain or you will lose your brain. The lying narcissistic psychopaths hiding behind the holy books have indoctrinated billions of children to think just like them. So much so, they actually believe that Trump won the election and that protecting the environment is to serve Satan, and that is just the beginning. Most of this was funded at taxpayers expense also. If you have to convince someone that truth, reality and science is Antichrist, it is too late for them. Instead of being taught to think rationally in church, they were taught to harm others and to lie. If they keep going on their projected path, the human race will enter another dark age on steroids with global warming and modern technology.
Ideologues, including of course religious freaks, have already lost their brains, both left and right
Myself, I will eat a slice of pizza or pie, but not gorge on the whole thing, which alas is what ideologues and religious freaks do.
Johnson only got the job because their "superstar" con man George Santos is on the way out. Not much left to choose from - no sane member of the House would put their name forward - so it looks like you're stuck with Johnson; better brush up on your Bible so you're able to see what's coming down the pipe.
Terrifying but true.
Nothing will get done legislatively until a few non maga Republicans in the house are horrified by their complicity in the unanimous republican vote for Johnson as speaker and join with the Democrats and get rid of him.
A likely government shutdown, along with revulsion of MTG, Boebert, Gosar, Fox, Santos and others, should finally flush the Trump and maga era out of US politics. If not, then a clean sweep of the Presidency and both houses of Congress by the Democrats in 2024 could do the trick. I believe it is possible.
While this is a grave concern indeed, I am far more concerned with Biden's complicity in Israel's religious crusades in Palestine. All of this comes home to roost Thom, and it's difficult to weed out theocracy here when we so wholeheartedly support the theocracies around the globe that are economically and geopolitically beneficial to us regardless of their illegal and amoral behavior.
Putin speaks.
So the Jihadist with a Jewish name, chastises Israel for a religious crusade
Now let's talk about a religious crusade.
Preamble to the HAMAS Covenant
: ″Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam invalidates it, just as it invalidated others before it″.
Article 7 of the HAMAS covenant, (same as sahih 1296 and 1295, Haddith of al Bukhari, book 56 haddith 139
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).
The Slogan of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Eight:
Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.
I checked the HAMAS charter on wikipedia, and it is a whitewash, you have to do some research on the links embedded in their version of the charter.
Read the unedited full version here: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp
Good rant against the new Speaker, but you didn’t even touch on the answer to the question you posed . . . .
My answer would be, of course we can “Stop MAGA Mike & the GOP from Inflicting Their Crusades on America.” However, to stop their pseudo-“Christian” grift, we have to work outside of traditional processes (i.e., the public sector whores of DC ) and collaborate with a critical mass of our fellow citizens (and the fourth estate) to fix things. Our current cast of elected (and appointed) officials are too tainted by the powers of corporate personhood to ever choose to satisfy their Constitutional purpose. And let’s face it, they are in office in the first place because they are more than willing to do things adverse to our rights and our communities’ interests. Therefore, we need to replace these evildoers with competent and progressive citizens that will get the job done. It will just take the strategic application of sustained nonviolent resistance using 21st century know how and our Constitutional rights.
By next year 40% of the electorate, enough to overwhelm all other demographic groups, young voters, who trend 70% Democratic, can be mobilized.
I've been asking Thom (and the DNC) to channel Taylor Swift, our best influencer with that demographic.
If Swift told her followers that it was a good idea to petition all of their elected officials (and candidates for public office) with a simple request to get their grievances redressed, I think they would do it without question. Especially if it were as easy as sending a simple email request to set our citizens' expectations for when they're serving in office. Specifically, Swifties should expect that our elected officials will pledge to satisfy their Constitutional purpose. A great benefit of setting expectations is that it allows us to seize the framing, narrative and messaging around the relationship between our citizens and our elected officials. In addition, Swift's fans should understand that the powers of corporate personhood are destroying our country and until that is remedied, our democracy will continue its backslide into autocracy.
To do it successfully, the best proven strategy to end tyranny requires 3.5% of us engaged in sustained nonviolent resistance. I am sure that she could inspire a lot more than 12 million to participate in the petition, and then leverage their votes to get a supermajority of competent progressives elected in 2024.
It would help if Biden with his bully pulpit would mention this kind of stuff also?
Methinks the question Thom raised was for the purpose of raising an issue. Consider all the facts, and draw your own conclusion. It does't look so good.
In my case it is because the Republicans have already passed voter suppression and voter negation laws in states where they are the majority in the state legislatures. Take NC for example, a purple state, in which Democratic and anti bigot voters, had a say in local and national politics, it is now, because of Jerrymandering and laws, a pretty solid religious bigot state.
The Republicans, once again, have secured the path for Trump and his legion of zombies.
I fear a repeat of 2016, where he loses the popular vote, but wins the electoral vote, all because of the apathy of people most affected by the Republicans misogynistic, xenophobic, racist, homophobic culture war. An apathy induced by our corporate and privately owned media, be it ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, not discounting the power of the pulpit, which is inherently right wing and fascist inclined.
The reference to Matthew 25 is excellent but it omits the negative corollary:
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Somehow the evangelicals never mention Matthew 25 - one could wonder why, but no - the text itself condemns them.....
As Presiding Bishop Michael Curry likes to say, "If it's not about love, it's not about God." Jesus was more concerned with building the reign of God on earth than he was about heaven and what did he do? He healed sick people, he fed multitudes, and he welcomed outcasts.
Can we also stop the grooming of children to become psychopaths? Will we ever be able to curtail unlimited greed? Will we be able to meet all the needs of all the babies? The Doomsday clock is ticking and nature is about to put the hammer down with global warming. Now would be a good time to organize like-minded people to get off the grid and become self-sufficient as soon as possible. Just in case the smell of blood and war becomes too much for the right-wing Christians to ignore. All this Israel and Ukraine conflict, is making them want a bloodbath as well, until they get one.
Human beings are herd animals who need a complex ecosystem to survive aka communities in place. Our shared Earth IS The Grid. What we all need is to lift these diseased political and corporate global parasites and conflict junkies off her and our backs.🐈⬛
There is something so utterly repugnant in preying on those whom are praying in true innocence. To usurp people's faith exclusively for the ungodly endeavors of power and wealth is about as evil as evil is. The sales and marketing team of Christ Co have heisted some of our very best people - and in exploiting their innocence - have duped them into supporting the very spirit of deceit itself. It truly hurts my heart.
The guise of divinity is eternal in its service to the profane.
Yes! that's telling it like it is. Modern White Supremacist Christians don't even come close to actually being Christian in their faith or their behaviours. Unfortunately, since you, Thom, and the rest of us who follow your "teachings" know, we are the woke left and for some incomprehensible reason, waking up seems to be out of fashion these days. My leftist father would be rolling in his grave if he had one seeing what has happened to the country he loved and believed in. He elected to be cremated and we scattered his ashes in places he loved.
Excellent and way overdue. I am not a card carrying ( so to speak) religious person but I do know what it was supposed to be about and entitlement is definitely not it. More and more that seems to be the current interpretation and use of religion. Speaking of interpretations, my personal view is that communism has never materialized anywhere as the name would suggest that it might be. Generally it has suffered from entitlement as well showing itself as autocratic dictatorships that seek to control the human march on one foot. One of the things I learned in boot camp was how to march. Left...right...left...right...left...right and so on. It is basic. Learning how to walk with conviction rather than sloughing about. What becomes clear is that if you right...right...right and never left you will eventually fall over. The same is true if you left...left...left. So one learns to use both feet for more distance with better results.
Mr. Hartman. I applaud you for taking on religious fraudsters, con artists. I cannot stop myself from thinking you are falling into the trap of addressing these dangerous people by using their concepts, their language. That is, you are using the concepts of religion, the very phenomenon which SHOULD be attacked. You are critiquing those people who are advocates for that phenomenon not the phenomenon itself. Perhaps we should direct our attention away from an individual (in this case Mr. Johnson) and instead analyze religion itself. On the surface it seems you are doing just that; critiquing Religion. But you are not. You are critiquing Mr. Johnson and you are doing this by using his language. This is a method of indirect criticism of the subject of Religion. This weakens your position considerably because it narrows your field of thought to that which is permitted by the religious adherent's thinking. Your comments remind me of the book DON'T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT by the Linguist George Lakoff, 2004. Which all critical thinkers should read, especially Liberals and Democrats.
You say "Religion has persisted throughout human history because we are wired to experience awe. Some find the presence of the divine when looking at stars in the night sky; some find it in childbirth and child-rearing; some find it in prayer and meditation." You may be correct in saying "we are wired to experience awe." "Whether religious or secular, this ability to stand dumbstruck and in awe before the grandeur of creation is a universal human trait." (You are writing beautifully, poetically. You often do. It is one of the reasons many of us enjoy reading you.) I do not know with certainty if I agree or disagree that this is a universal human trait. I am inclined to disagree. I do not believe there is empirically, acceptable anthropological evidence to believe that any "universal traits" exist inherently in humans.
Recent evidence summarized by David Wengrow and the late David Graeber in THE DAWN OF EVERYTHING, A New History of Humanity, 2021, throw such ideas into doubt.
Regardless of how one stands on this issue, I do not believe it is a good idea to limit our critique to an examination of individuals and what may or may not be born into us. We can examine Religion itself, being very careful about how we use words like "divine." When we examine it, we see that religion is an effective mechanism of human social control. All religions have one thing in common: they all have rules about behavior. These rules control our behavior. In the words of the Structural Functionalists: "The function of religion is control." By the use of the term "function'" in this context I mean that an institution's contribution to the survival of society is called its "function." Any phenomenon which contributes to the survival of the group is likely to continue to exist from generation to generation. So Religion continues to exist because it is conducive to survival.
How does religion contribute to survival? By bringing people together (often physically together in synagogs, mosques, temples, mass celebrations and rituals, churches, etc.) Religion is a kind of metaphorical human glue. It draws us together in many subtle almost invisible, yet powerful ways. It binds us into groups. Groups are much more likely to survive than isolated individuals, for many obvious reasons. Adults must care for human infants or the species will not survive. This rearing of infants is accomplished by the institution of the Family, a universal kind of human group found in all societies. One can easily find other examples of human groups which are essential in some way: economic, political, medical, educational, etc.
Finally, back to individuals: my experience of awe without the inclusion of any religious ideas like "divine:" At the age of 15 I looked into the night sky, was awed by what I saw and experienced nothing divine. The universe seemed to me to be endless in its physical dimensions, timeless and with neither beginning nor end. There is no such thing as "time." Time is a mythical invention of humans which is helpful to us. When I was a little older I touched my newborn daughter for the first time and experienced an epiphany devoid of any religious meaning. I realized without doubt, that I could love another human being more than myself. Nothing "divine." No " god." Only my daughter.
We must accept that some things in the universe are simply beyond our ability to understand. It is not a question of Epistemology. How do we come to "know" what we "know?" We can find some answers to this question. But we eventually bump up against barriers, beyond which we cannot go. As for Cosmology, the question of what is out there for us to perceive; again we can acquire some knowledge. But, again we bump up against barriers which might never come down. We do not need a "god" to explain anything. I do not know why I love my children. I just do, and I need no divine explanation. The Universe is. I think. Therefore I am. Cogito ergo sum. Rene Descartes.
The problem is not the holy books, the problem is the psychopaths interpreting the holy books. Inequality of wealth will just create more mentally ill narcissists and psychopaths. Struggling to survive and poverty creates a lot of anger and dishonesty. The snowball effect. The rich have learned to protect their wealth while letting the poor eat their own.