Dozens (yes, dozens) of Christians paraded around praying in front of what was either Playboy's headquarters or Hugh Hefner's mansion* on Saturday, because naked blondes are so much more important than starving children or people dying due to lack of health care.
Strike LA, the group that organized the gathering, described the event as one of its biggest in terms of targets. Over the last few years, the group said it has held about 30 so-called strikes, which involve participants fasting and praying for God to intervene and release the city of Los Angeles from the bondage of the “enemy.” Each strike event culminates in a prayerful march at a specific location that represents a sector that needs God’s intervention, such as education, Hollywood, the courts, sports, and the marketplace.
This is perfectly in line with the Manhattan Declaration, which declares gay people to be a bigger moral issue than the aforementioned starving children or perfectly treatable dying people.
What I find so perfectly odd about all this is that these people supposedly follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as memoralized in the Bible, and while Jesus' reaction to the adulterous woman could best be described as "meh", he had plenty to say about the sick and the hungry.
James 2:14-20
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless
Matt 25:34-46
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"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. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I 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.'
44"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?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Luke 3:10-11
10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
There is only one conclusion that can be drawn from this: most Christians care less about what Jesus said than I do**. Jesus didn't give a flying fuck about gay people or porn or sports, but he sure did care about the poor. Jesus couldn't shut up about the responsibility he felt his followers should take for their fellow man, but his supposed followers can't shut up about sex.
These people better hope they're wrong about meeting Jesus any time soon, because I can't picture him doing anything other than slapping them across the face and screaming, "How many fucking times do I have to talk about the poor before you fucking get it?!"
*They chose Saturday because that is the anniversary of the first publication of the magazine in question, and Playboy's first issue was released in December of 1953, so I'm guessing Playboy.
**Notable exceptions include the Slacktivist, who may well be the return of Jesus.
PF, you say:
ReplyDelete"What I find so perfectly odd about all this is that these people supposedly follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as memoralized in the Bible, and while Jesus' reaction to the adulterous woman could best be described as "meh", he had plenty to say about the sick and the hungry."
What's perfectly odd about this? Poking one's nose in other people's bedrooms and moralizing about it is entertaining and a time-honored tradition. Doing something about the sick and the hungry is not nearly as fun, and can seriously impinge on one's comfort. No surprise here.
""How many fucking times do I have to talk about the poor before you fucking get it?!"
ReplyDeleteI'm telling you...if there is a God (whichever one) the atheists will be the most likely to make it to heaven... makes me almost wish I believed in God...