Soapbox

As a Christian, I am appalled by the outrages that are being perpetrated in the name of Christ which actually have nothing to do with Christ’s message.

Our federal judiciary are judges sworn to uphold the constitution, not priests sworn to uphold the bible. Yet they are being threatened by members of the U.S. senate because their rulings conform to the Constitution and not to someones twisted notion of the Bible! Bill Frist, the man who diagnoses patients from the senate floor by videotape, has said he will take part in an all out assault on “Filibusters against people of faith� to make sure that the religious views of a few can be imposed on everyone.

Schools and science centers are being told what they can and cannot teach based on the tiny box that some closed minds try to place my awesome and mighty God into. They have declared that evolution, geology and astronomy are all lies because, apparently, their God could never have set evolution into motion or created the universe hundreds of millions of years ago! They have a weak, narrow view of God and insist we close our minds and hearts to match theirs.

And in more than a dozen states, laws are being written to allow pharmacists to refuse to fill a prescription if it, or you, offends their religious or ethical beliefs. In some states the pharmacist can now confiscate your prescription for birth control pills, AZT, or even antibiotics, so you can’t even get it filled somewhere else! Doctors and nurses will be allowed to refuse to treat a patient of whom they disapprove. Our elected officals believe that pharmacists should allowed to declare themselves judge and jury on your lifestyle, and blame their prejudices on Jesus.

These politicians seeking to out-Jesus each other and their eagerness to abuse the many to please a minority are disturbingly similar to what the Taliban wrought on the people on Afghanistan in the name of the Prophet. It also demonstrates an amazing lack of understanding of the words contained in the very Bible they are hitting us over the head with. How can they claim to stand up for Christ when they seem to know nothing about what Jesus taught?

*Jesus warned us to judge not, lest we be judged and told us not to cast stones because all have sin.
*Jesus asked us to be like the good samaritan, and help all those in need, rather than passing by because we are more concerned with religious rules.
*Jesus said that while faith should guide us in all things, we should keep our religion and our government separate. Surely the Constitution of the United States is a thing of “Ceasar” and not of God.
*Jesus let people make their own decisions, live their lives and accept the consequences. He condemned no one and said that the only rule that mattered was to love each other.
* Jesus wanted us to keep our faith a private thing and not be boastful about it, or to assume that just because we go to church and speak his name in public, God is happier with us than with everybody else!
*And remember that Jesus warned of the wolf in sheep’s clothing and said that people would come and claim to speak for him but would speak falsely.

The core values of Jesus’ message seem lost on many American Christians today. Faith is not a competition to prove whom loves God the most. It should be a guide for your soul, not a weapon to use against those you disagree with or an excuse for avoiding responsibility.

Who would Jesus refuse to help? No one.