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Sunday, March 9. 2008
The Root of All Evil
Religion is the root of all evil.More specifically, the three religions that claim Abraham as their Patriarch: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A co-worker and I were talking about another co-worker (who wasn’t there today) and just how phony this third person is.
Gossip, what an enjoyable pastime. Slander someone unmercifully when they’re not there to defend themselves.
But the phony religionist at work isn’t really my serious concern. In this current election cycle, race has coupled with religion for some of the worst in hate speech. Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president was endorsed by radio evangelist right wing nut job John Hagee. The flip-flopping Republican had this to say of Hagee’s endorsement: “All I can tell you is I'm very proud to have Pastor Hagee's support.” Really?
Hagee’s statements include calling the Catholic Church “The Great Whore” and claiming Jews will go to Hell if they don’t accept Jesus Christ. He also states war with Iran is a precondition to the Rapture and the second coming of Christ. So he not only advocates it, he pushes politicians towards it. And you can be sure he will strongly push McCain to widen Bush’s war in the Middle East by invading Persia.His views on women (From NPR’s Fresh Air): “Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist.”
His views on Hurricane Katrina (also from Fresh Air): All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are — were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades. So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know that there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the Day of Judgment. And I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.”
And the radical religionist also claims Hitler was divinely inspired and that any and all Muslims who believe the Quran have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews.
John Hagee isn’t just a run-of-the-mill religious freak. He’s the leader of a “mega-church” with over 19,000 members.
In one sense the man is inspiring. He has a multi-million dollar income from his church as not only the pastor but also the CEO of the church business. I’ve been thinking of becoming an online and broadcast religious leader just to get all of you and your friends to send me money to spew whatever. Would I really need a physical church? Could parishioners accept that I’m only in it for the money?
So, the man has a large audience and obviously the people who pay his multi-million dollar payday believe the shit he spews. Otherwise, his church wouldn’t have nearly 20,000 active members and millions of viewers to his televised hatred program. The man’s ministry is all about hate. He claims to be a follower of Christ yet he advocates starting wars. He advocates armed violence. I’ve read the Bible, discussed it with my brother who really is a Biblical scholar and for the life of me can’t find where Jesus advocated violence and war. But there are just enough religious flakes that believe as Hagee believes to make the hate-monger a loud voice in the political process.
Trouble is, besides McCain being proud of Hagee’s endorsement, the media has given the Arizona senator a pass on the endorsement. Eight years ago McCain called religious leaders like Hagee “agents of intolerance.” Now, to make sure he won the Republican nomination McCain has sucked up to and sucked the agents of intolerance. And it’s hard to believe some of the media people still call McCain’s campaign “the Straight Talk Express.”
Any honor McCain might have had has been sold to the lowest bidders of the Republican Party and the religious fundamentalists.
On the other hand, the media has made big news of Louis Farrakhan’s endorsement of Barack Obama. Farrakhan is of course the extremely anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam. Obama, unlike McCain and Hagee, has rejected — or denounced, depending on how to you want to characterize Obama’s reaction to the endorsement — Farrakhan’s backing.The big news, even bigger than McCain being proud of an endorsement from a religious nut leader, is Senator Clinton’s question on whether it is better to reject or denounce an endorsement. So, why isn’t Hagee’s endorsement of McCain and McCain’s acceptance getting the same media scrutiny as Obama and Clinton talking about Obama’s rejection of Farrakhan’s endorsement?
McCain is the Straight Talk Express war hero. He’s been trading on the reputation for decades now, despite the fact that he has sucked the dick of the Religious Right to win the nomination and just recently backtracked on his stand against using torture. McCain’s silence on the issue is deafening. Detainees from Guantanamo Bay have filed suit over torture used there and the Bush Administration has argued the detainees aren’t entitled to protection from inhuman treatment.No one in the media has asked McCain for a comment since the detainees have cited the 2005 McCain’s Law in their suit. Why is McCain so silent? The religious zealots who claim they follow Christ also think we should torture the Muslim detainees. Can’t find anywhere in the Bible where Jesus advocates torture, but McCain wants their backing so he will say very little, if anything, that contradicts the Religious Right’s views.
John McCain is a big phony.
Then of course there are the recent statements from Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King: Barack Obama as president would be a victory for Al Qa’ida because Obama’s middle name is Hussein. King says Islamic terrorists would declare victory were Obama to win the election in November. So far the Republican presidential nominee hasn’t said anything about King’s remarks. Once again McCain’s silence is deafening.The most vocal, so-called followers of Christ, are doing their level best to turn this election into a religious war, one in which Obama is an agent of Islamic terrorists and McCain is the defender of Christianity.
Add to that people like the Harpy who says belittling Obama’s name is fun and funny and Sean Hannity claiming Obama is a racist because he belongs to a Black church, and we can see what the election spew will look like if Obama wins the Democratic nomination.
Religion is the root of all evil and it’s a crying shame so many Americans think religious affiliation is an important component of a candidate’s resume.There is one exception to this rule: California Republican Congressman Pete Stark who openly admits he is an atheist. I’d consider voting for him just on that alone. Sadly, most politicians find it necessary to suck up to religion to get votes. It’s been my hope that one day religion would be a non-issue in American politics; that most Americans would finally throw off the yoke of oppression that is religion. Sadly, we are in a social cycle that has religion playing a dominant role in the American zeitgeist. To believe in something that was first created by people in the Stone Age is beyond ridiculous, it’s the epitome of ignorance.
But this is America; ignorance and mediocrity are the coins of the realm.
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