A study of history will show a long tragedy of unethical people using organized religion for their own ends (political, economic gain, etc.).

I try to focus on the things Jesus actually said to do. But oh-so-many people want the New Testament Headline News version: “Tell me who’s evil, so I’ll know what to think…”

I am sick and tired of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being prostituted for some worldly agenda. In growing numbers, people in this country are growing up without a Christian world view. They don’t know what Jesus was about. If they get to know Jesus, many realize He is a wholly admirable figure that they can embrace, and in some cases, call Lord. What they are being told by the loud mouth blowhards who get on television as examples of Christianity is that all He cares about is hating fags and stopping abortion. That He believes that well off people like me deserve tax cuts. That, as the “Reverend” Falwell famously put it years ago, “Jesus believed in nuclear weapons. He wasn’t a sissy.” That Jesus wants us to invade other countries. That He absolutely supports the death penalty. I have to confess that I understand the logic of some thoughtful pro-life people from my Christian perspective. But I cannot understand combining that point of view with support of the death penalty. If you believe an eternal soul is sacred to the Creator before it is born, how can you feel otherwise about one after it is born?

The truth is that a great deal of the Bible is about our responsibility to the poor. Hundreds of times more words are written about taking care of the poor than about homosexuality. And as one who takes the Bible very seriously, I confess being confused by the passages about homosexuality. However, some of the finest examples of genuine Christianity I know are gay and lesbian friends. This business of God takes care of those who take care of themselves is fundamentally and demonstrably crap from a biblical perspective. Jesus demands that those of us who have are not loving Him if we don’t take care of those who have not.

Can you tell that this one hit a nerve with me?

It’s only slightly oversimplified, but it really would work: boost the economy by giving the poorest a little more money to live on — what do politicians think they’d do with it, stuff it under their mattress (assuming they have one)?