spare me from politicians using bad theology to rationalize their bigotry
Congressman’s Misuse Of Bible Verse Belies Bad Theology And Ideology On Food Stamps
I'm no Christian myself, but I still feel pretty secure in saying that this guy is a sucky example of one. As the article points out, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is not about Jesus refusing aid to the needy and those who are unable to work and calling them lazy mooches who don't deserve to eat. Rather, it's an admonishment from Paul to those who had stopped working in anticipation of the second coming and were living off the largesse of their neighbors.
And I'll tell you, that admonishment has resonance today in another area of politics: global climate change. Dominionist theology in the US is in the business of climate change denial and working to obstruct anyone who is trying to do anything to combat it, rationalizing that environmentalism is "anti-Christian" and that there's no point in trying to mitigate climate change because $DEITY is going to end the world whenever $DEITY feels like it. I think the Dominionists need to reread 2 Thessalonians 3:10, and then take a cue from the Jewish concept of tikkun olam -- healing the world, because we have to live in it -- and this quote from the Talmud: "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."
Thanks to grail76 for the link.
I'm no Christian myself, but I still feel pretty secure in saying that this guy is a sucky example of one. As the article points out, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is not about Jesus refusing aid to the needy and those who are unable to work and calling them lazy mooches who don't deserve to eat. Rather, it's an admonishment from Paul to those who had stopped working in anticipation of the second coming and were living off the largesse of their neighbors.
And I'll tell you, that admonishment has resonance today in another area of politics: global climate change. Dominionist theology in the US is in the business of climate change denial and working to obstruct anyone who is trying to do anything to combat it, rationalizing that environmentalism is "anti-Christian" and that there's no point in trying to mitigate climate change because $DEITY is going to end the world whenever $DEITY feels like it. I think the Dominionists need to reread 2 Thessalonians 3:10, and then take a cue from the Jewish concept of tikkun olam -- healing the world, because we have to live in it -- and this quote from the Talmud: "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."
Thanks to grail76 for the link.