Another politician using religion for racism

berzirk

berzirk

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/11/chuck-schumer-on-gaza-str_n_609594.html

If I hear about one more Bible thumping Republi...say what?

"This past Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) delivered a wide-ranging speech at an Orthodox Union event in Washington, D.C."

"Schumer turned his attention to the situation in Gaza. He told the audience that the "Palestinian people still don't believe in the Jewish state, in a two-state solution," and also that "they don't believe in the Torah, in David." He went on to say "you have to force them to say Israel is here to stay."

The Palestinian people are a collection of Jews, Christians, Muslims. All three of those groups not only believe in or give reverence to the Torah, they all look to David as a good man of God. If he's basing decisions on who should or shouldn't receive humanitarian aid based on whether or not they believe in the Torah, then he's no different than those kooks Bachman, Peter King, and others like them.

While I kid with the political angle of assuming a politician using religion for their racism, sexism, etc, is always a Republican, it's disappointing to see that a politician can factually be wrong, blatantly racist, and the news coverage is effectively zero.

I guess Schumer doesn't believe in the Torah either:

"And if your brother becomes poor and is not able to make a living, then you are to help him to survive, helping him and also a proselyte from foreign land who is living among you. (Leviticus, 25:35)"

 
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What the hell planet was I born on.

Thanks for the post, although finding a militant zionist among the Democrats in New York is as hard as finding a good slice of pizza.

 
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It's newsworthy, but what's even more newsworthier if a politician criticizes Israel for its actions regarding the Palestinian people no matter how constructive, since everybody will go apespit on that guy for being a enemy of a US's ally.

 
As a Christian it saddens and angers me to see so many people using the faith I believe in (although not as devout as I was when younger) for evil purposes such as bigotry and racism and discrimination.  You can take any Holy Book and find verses in there that will tell you what you want to hear.

"Well the Bible says 'Eye for an eye"

Yeah, and the Bible ALSO says "do not repay vengeance for vengeance. ... Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord."

People find things that suit their beliefs, and then carry that forward.  They essentially tailor the Bible around their beliefs as opposed to tailoring your beliefs around the Bible.  I mean, not everyone believes in God, and that's fine.  My faith was never based on what others felt about it, or whether they agreed with me or not.

But if you profess to be a Christian and you are basically pulling a Thomas Jefferson and cutting out all the stuff you disagree with so you have your own personal Bible that fits your already held beliefs, well, I think that's a problem.

As the saying goes, "You know you've created God in your own image, when He hates all the same people that you do."

At the base of the problem though, is the politicization of religion.  It's that melding of Politics and Faith (Church + State, if you will) that has caused so much damage.   Sadly I don't see that ever changing though.

 
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I wrote a blog post about this (several actually) but this one is the one that seems to get the most consistent traffic for one reason or another I guess. It's also the first one that I wrote where I think it finally clicked for me WHY I was so frustrated with my Faith and how I felt about it as opposed to how I viewed a lot of others who claimed to be Christian.

http://www.searchingforchetbaker.com/2012/05/politicization-of-christianity.html

Context for the snippet below. Andrew Sullivan, a political columnist, and a Catholic, went on a Sunday News show and said the following:

"When I go and see young people, their image of Christianity these days is one of judgment, intolerance and to some extent bigotry and politics," Sullivan said. "They associate it with one political party in this country, because of the fusion of evangelical and ultra-orthodox Catholics with the Republican Party. They don't see it as the message of Jesus, they don't see it any more as a message of love and forgiveness. They see it as a bunch of people trying to control their lives through political mechanisms.

"Or, if they're in an evangelical church they're also susceptible to things like the 'prosperity gospel,' which is saying that Jesus told you to get rich.

"There's so much bad religion right now in this country that I felt it was important as a Christian to say, 'This is not what I believe. This is not what many of my fellow Catholics believe. We want to return to the message of Jesus and the gospels, not these obsessive battles over contraception or gay marriage or these other, I think, political issues, where Jesus really, really avoided politics at all costs," Sullivan said.
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And so here's a snippet of my longer piece that you can read in full by clicking the link above.

And Sullivan's words he spoke on CBS is EXACTLY how I feel. I've been trying to express myself without crossing a line that I'd rather not cross in how I explain myself, but this is perfect. The Faith that I have adhered to my entire life no longer resembles anything that I have always viewed it as. It has been co-opted and politicized so much that the very word "Christianity" doesn't even conjure up the words "Jesus Christ", it evokes negativity and anger and bigotry and politics.

You often hear politicians talk about how it's against Christian morals and values to support Gay Rights and/or a woman's right to choose. Well if that's true, and I am both pro choice and pro Gay rights, does that mean I'm not a Christian? Do those TWO issues override any other belief I have as it pertains to the faith that I've been involved with since I was a child?

Jesus never said word one about homosexuality or abortion, and yet those two issues are held up as the very definition of what is in the Bible. Even though we hear often about how marriage has always been about "one man and one woman", in fact the Bible is full of examples of one man and many women (King Solomon, anyone?).

Yet Jesus spoke many many times about helping out the poor, helping out the less fortunate, treating others with respect and dignity, and he railed against the rich. He specifically said that it would be easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven, and yet everything you hear from so-called REAL Christians is almost the exact opposite.

They have an Ayn Rand philosophy where it's everyone for themselves. The ultimate "I Got Mine Jack" mentality. Oppressing women and denying same sex marriage was NOT what Jesus spoke about. However so many politicians and others who claim the faith bearing His name represent nothing of what He spoke on.

Instead we have them trying to pass laws to ban contraception, you have North Carolina adding a law on top of a law outlawing gay marriage, and you have some states that are trying to CRIMINALIZE same sex relations, all while pushing for tax cuts for the rich at the expense of the poor.

Is that what Jesus spoke about? Is that what REAL Christianity is about?
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I feel sorry after reading your post. I am hoping that your frustration on those people "who called themselves christian" that failed to act as Christians shouldn't affect well about your faith in God. If they can't act as real christian but it doesn't mean that you can't act as true Christian.

 
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