Americans are quick to criticize moderate Muslims and Muslim leaders for not condemning extremists who have hijacked Islam and turned it into an excuse to murder innocent people of all faiths who don't adhere to their warped views of Islam. Yet only a handful of Christian religious leaders has raised objections to the actions and words of Christian extremists.
We are in serious trouble when conservative Christians rally behind a president who
- says he doesn't want to allow more immigrants from "shithole countries" such as Haiti and unnamed African countries.
- says he wants more immigrants from countries such as Norway. Another leader of a country wanted only people with white, Aryan skin in his country, too. His name was Adolf Hitler.
- delays aid to the citizens of Puerto Rico (who are American citizens), presumably because they have brown, not white, skin.
- verbally assaults the parents of a Muslim American soldier who died fighting for his country
- made flip comments to the widow of a black American soldier killed in action in an African country
- claimed that "there are good people on both sides" in the aftermath of a white supremacist rally in Charlotte, NC
- tried to ban transsexual people from serving in the US military, a move that was overturned by a federal judge
- signs legislation to strip health insurance from millions of Americans
- works to deport young people who were brought to the US illegally when they were children, and who are attending college or working
Jesus Christ walks with the poor, the homeless, the lepers, with prostitutes. Today's so-called Christians are anything but following the teachings of Christ as they support a president and a party that seek to cut funding for the poor and homeless, as they speak against immigrants and attack those who are 'different' than they are.
I was raised in a Christian family, and although I do not attend nor do I belong to any church, I do try to live my life according to Christian principles. I try to treat everyone equally. I have friends in various countries (including several who live in African countries). I have friends who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, pagan, agnostic and atheist. I don't care what religion, if any, my friends follow. I judge them on, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said "the content of their heart." Are they good people? Do they treat others as they wish to be treated? Do they do what they can to help others? Are they kind to animals?
American Christianity has been hijacked by the fundamentalist, right-ring branch of the religion. This group does not represent mainstream Christianity, and it most definitely does not represent me. I have a good friend who is gay. I was one of the witnesses at his wedding to his longtime partner, and I was one of two people who signed his marriage certificate. Do they not deserve the same treatment, and the same rights, as do heterosexual couples?
These pseudo-Christians pick and choose which Bible verses they want to follow. Consider the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples because it was against her religion. This, despite the fact that she has been married three times and had at least one extramarital affair. But gay marriage is a threat to the sanctity of marriage, right? So much for "do unto others." Many of the letters of the so-called alt right claim to be good Christians as they protest against Jews and blacks and anybody who isn't white.
Consider former Alabama judge Roy Moore, who was reported by several women to have sexually molested them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. Yet his "Christian" base voted for him "because he's a good man" and "he's a good Christian." No, he is not a good man and he is definitely not a good Christian. And anyone who supports this racist, homophobic, misogynistic president is not a good Christian either. Perhaps these people need to refresh their knowledge of the Christian bible and what it means to be a "good Christian."
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