An interesting article on CNN.com concering the real meaning of Christianity

[WCGreen]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/04/martin.jesus/index.html


An African-American pastor I know in the Midwest was asked by a group of mostly white clergy to march in an anti-abortion rally. He was fine with that, but then asked the clergy if they would work with him to fight crack houses in predominantly black neighborhoods.

"That's really your problem," he was told.

They saw abortion as a moral imperative, but not a community ravaged by crack.


The commentary talks about what it means to be a true Christian.

It exposes the Right for what it is and looks at how some on the left abuse the moniker of Christian for purely political reasons...

[HockeyMom]

1. Maybe if you get rid of the crack, the poverty,

lack of education, low standard of living, etc., etc., the need for abortions will go down?

[Wapsie B]

2. It's a very unabashed and raw view

of how religion has been co-opted by politicians for their own gain. It's not jaded cynicism if it's the truth.

Good article!

[Gatchaman]

3. White christians = republicans

I hate to sound like I'm oversimplifying things, but it really is that simple. White christians are more concerned with republican values, which are apparantly limited to stopping abortion and stomping queers. Crack houses and drug use are a REAL problem, not a politically manufactured crisis.

[Goblinmonger]

4. Another round of "you're not a true Christian"

I love this game. Christians kicking each other out of the religion. Can it get any better?

[papau]

6. If its Easter its time to dump on Christians - atheists on DU are always with us but this is special

n/t

[Goblinmonger]

7. See, we're not the ones dumping on Christians

It's other Christians that are dumping on Christians in the OP. You can feel persecuted by atheists all you want as you hold the majority in the country, but I have never seen an atheist play this game of "you're not a true christian." That is a special game played by some very special Christians--those that have the TRUE insight into God. Must be something to be the chosen ones.

[papau]

8. The OP posted a pastor saying some Christians do not walk the talk - your point is

what?

My point was this was a "special" time when the media is not satisfied with promoting atheist God "delusion" Dawson or Bill Maher, but this week the media feels the need to also note disagreements among the religious.

A "don't walk the talk" story could have been posted on any of 365 days - and they chose Holy Week.

Guess it is one of those "human interest stories" whose turn to be publish just popped up.

[Goblinmonger]

9. You seriously think the media promotes atheism

You have got to be kidding me. Is this why I get to see umpteen stories about the tomb of Jesus? And how such and such can't be the tomb because one of the gospels mentions that it was a "new tomb" and nobody in the media even bothers to ask why other contradictions in the gospel are just ignored but this is somehow "proof." Do you really have that big of a need to feel persecuted to try and tell me with a straight face that the media pushes the atheist agenda? Get a grip. You are the majority. Atheists are the most reviled minority. I know you have heard about that U of Minn study. Act like you have.

[papau]

10. yes - I think the media promotes atheism - check the New York Times Book reviews for

positive atheist book reviews - the get back to me when you find a positive Christian book review.

Mud slinging by Dawson gets press, Religious get zip.

Only now that it is ending after selling 36 million copies is the "Left behind" series even mentioned - and that is because it is last book in a series time. And "Left Behind" is a great book to perhaps some of the 270 million Christians in this country - the 30 million Fundi evangelicals perhaps, perhaps the other 70 million non-fundi evangelicals also, but it is not to the 170 million non-evangelicals.

Meanwhile the 12 million atheists get positive PR from "intellectuals on the left" in the media, as if there are not intellectuals on the left that are not atheists. (the millions number in each group is just applying the Harris poll numbers to the population so it assumes kids are whatever the parent is and that kids are distributed evenly amongst all groups)

In the last few years Christian books have gotten a few feet of shelf space in the "new age/spiritual" section - and this is a major change. In the 50's to the 90's you were sent to a "Christian" book store as the major book stores and chains just were not interested in religious books.

It is getting to the point with Dawson and Harris and the rest out there that civil polite and not arrogant with constant put downs of the religious atheists are calling themselves Humanist so as to make a distinction that they are not part of the jihad against the religious that seems the Harris/Dawson theme.

I suspect the Minn poll reflects the response to the "atheists of the 21st Century" - indeed I suspect Dawson and Harris wanted and love the response they get from those not in the atheist choir.

[Goblinmonger]

11. Wow, it took me less than a minute to find out that

Grace (Eventually) is number 2 on the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction list AND that it got a positive review from the NYT Book Review. So what's your next lameass argument?

Again, it seems to me that what you see as "arrogant" and "put downs" are really just atheists finally speaking up. In the 50s to 90s how many atheist books did you see? How many atheist book stores? Atheists just shut up about it and people liked that. Now that there are atheists that actually dare to publically speak about what they think, people see them as rude because they speak there thoughts. Whereas Christians are free to speak their thoughts all they want without society thinking that rude. You've got it tough there, my Christian brother, I feel for you.

[sam sarrha]

5. Christianity has been hijacked by the NeoCons and turned into a Cargo Cult