Come on folks, Tweety Twump cannot be getting over on you with his references to God, and "Under God" on our money as a "great thing," and his special, recently announced concern for Christian immigrants from Syria.
Before I show Tweety is a hypocrite with his words on religion though, [I give you a link at the bottom of this blog.] we first have to understand that if you try to run your government, to manage your country with religion, you will be persecuting and criminalizing a lot of innocent people in a 100% NON-CHRISTIAN way. "Love the neighbor," treat others as you wish to be treated, kindness and caring goes out the window as soon the Government chooses religion to rule by.
Governing is based on someone's version of the religion of the day, which, in America, is Christianity . . . so far. And as people, society, and the government changes, so can the religious rules.
Let's start with the ending: There is NO BASIS FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GOVERNING ITSELF AS A CHRISTIAN NATIION. NONE. ZERO. NADA.
All arguments to the contrary are self-serving propaganda sprung from a selfish agenda of a particular part of a particular religion, or for some diabolical person's or group's hope to abuse our nation, e.g. "DOMINIONISTS" also known as "American Fascists."
Let me offer you food for thought to go with this blog about the existence of God, and the inadequacies of people to address the idea and truth about this entity called "god/God"
Credit to Ricky Gervais, where I heard the words I am writing today, from a debate about God's existence. Ricky asks what would we have if every religious word written was erased and mankind had to rewrite it? Would it be the same? Not likely. Then Ricky asks what if every science word written was erased and mankind had to rewrite it? Science would have to be the same because, for example, physics will always be the same for gravity, speed of light, and magnetism.
True Believer never accept such pure logic, but maybe more thoughtful people will think about the Ricky Gervais words.
Obvious questions of a theocracy, the rule of a country based on a religion, like Iran and Saudi Arabia:
1. Which religion?
2. Which beliefs of that religion does our government choose to follow?
3. How will the particular chosen religion or sect of a religion beliefs and rules be selected?
4. Of these no doubt cherry-picked beliefs and rules, how will these be communicated?
5. How will the chosen beliefs and rules be enforced?
There are endless questions and the answers to all of them are subject to someone's agenda, and personally selfish reasoning.
What religious beliefs and rules to use as a governing philosophy, and making governing policies based on these is impossibly unfair.
Christianity is OK, practice in your home and church. Do not force your beliefs on me through Government. Do not use Christian beliefs and rules to make laws!
The "Puritans" came to America for religious freedom so that became, in time, a part of our United States Constitution, freedom of religion. So if freedom of religion is the Constitutional basis for governing in America, we cannot pick only one religion to run our country. We have to have a spiritual, empathetic, moral, ethical, and kind government.
The Constitution defines the principles of Governance of the United States of America, all 50 states. Literally, this American Constitution does not state that the U.S. is a Christian nation. It is not there; so at best the United States is NOT a "Christian nation." In fact, at best, the United States is a non-denominational country and Christianity is only one (1), NOT THE ONE, of MANY / ANY religions/religion practiced by its citizens. So there is NO SUPPORT in the Constitution for Christianity to be THE one religion of the US Government.
The Declaration of Independence ALSO does not mention of Christianity.
The only religious reference in the Declaration of Independence is a generic statement "endowed by their Creator." The "Creator" is anyone you want him/her to be. Every religion has its own concept of the "Creator."
Finally be clear the Founding Fathers were not all Christians. It is disingenuous and fake and a lie to try to infer the Founding Fathers intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation. Many of the Founding Fathers were Deists, not Christians, and no doubt other religions likely.
Thinking people who study where we are with Twump can easily see what he is up to, using God, Christianity, and religion in general. Twump is not spiritual, he is not kind, he is not capable of empathy, and he absolutely is not ethical. You will see all these weaknesses as time marches on for these next many months.
Here is one web site arguing the United States is a "Christian" nation, and they literally lie, an UNCHRISTIAN thing to do as far as I know about "Christianity." "Thou shalt not lie and bear false witness" or something like that.
This was a VERY simplistic web argument, almost child-like, but it makes the usual argumants in the usual vacuous, non-thinking manner, and it but the easiest to find.
Religion is MUCH more complicated than this web site wants us to think. This web site take the easy Christian way of getting to the truth, which is basically to say, "believe me" and have "faith." "I am right."
Let's start with a very basic point tht religion is complex, not just "Christian." Religion is VERY MUCH NOT "One Way," meaning only the Christian way. So, for example, look at the question of homosexuality.
By Michael Bronski Books, Sexuality/GenderOctober 1, 2013
"Does Religion Condemn Homosexuality?"
http://religiondispatches.org/does-religion-condemn-homosexuality/
"Religions are richly variable in their organizations, belief systems, rituals, and practices. This is true across cultures and history. Grand statements about what “all religions” say or believe about anything—especially about such a complex phenomenon as human desire and sexuality—are not just unhelpful, they’re impossible. Nonetheless, this has not prevented many Christian opponents of homosexuality from asserting that all religions condemn homosexuality. This assertion is patently false; it is not even the case that all Christianities condemn homosexuality. The myth that all religions condemn homosexuality passes off one strand of Christian interpretation as a universal moral claim about what “all religions” and “all religious people” believe. In fact, what religions have to say about homosexuality varies considerably not just among religions, but within religions, too.Religions are internally diverse. Although we are used to referring to Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, or Buddhism in the singular, we could more accurately refer to these dynamic ways of organizing human relationships in the plural: as Christianities, Hinduisms, Judaisms, Islams, Buddhisms. This shift from singular to plural may sound odd, but is helpful when it reminds us that no religion is monolithic. What any religion means in the lives of its practitioners changes across historical periods, geographical locations, and in relation to other social forces."Proof That America Was Founded As A Christian Nation""
http://www.internationalcopsforchrist.com/proof-that-america-was-founded-as-a-christian-nation/
To start, the site offers the Declaration of Independence, and a link to the document, where they say, "The Declaration has many references to God throughout the document. The most famous one is that men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." The Declaration at the link provided uses "God" once, and "Creator" once.
The web site tries to skirt the truth by interpreting words as meaning "God." They offer this list for "God" and, of course, they know exactly what the Funding Fathers intended, right. Only they know better than anyone, right?
"Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” [Here is the one time "god" is used.]
Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World”
With a firm Reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence”
Thank you to the web site for then offering this disclaimer. Good of them after they seem to be trying to win an unwinnable argument.
"The Declaration of Independence does not identify the God whom they are addressing. This could be left open to interpretation and opinion."
The web site continues to try to establish as a fact that the United States is a Christian Nation using THEIR interpretations as facts. The only FACT is that one does not get to create and invent facts that are not there to win an argument and make a false claim about "God." That is not Christian is it. Indeed it is decidedly UNCHRISTIAN to lie and spread falsehoods.
"The body of the Constitution makes no reference to God. The Constitution honors the Christian Sabbath. The President was given 10 days to sign a bill into law. The counting of the 10 days does not include the Sabbath. This is found in Article 1, Section 7, and Clause 2 which in part follows:
“If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law,”
The authors of this web site continue to be silly.
"When the Constitution was completed on September 17, 1787, it was signed by the delegates then to be ratified by the states. The delegates signed the Constitution in the “Year of our Lord.” This is a direct reference to Christianity. This is found in Article 7 which in part follows:"
Whose "Lord" my friend? Allah? The web site has no chance of making their point as it is extremely shallow in logic and thought. This is an example of how the argument goes, however.
From a collection of detailed thoughts in Wikpedia:
"In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[3] The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence. Many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent (perfectly good) and all loving.
God is most often held to be incorporeal (immaterial),[3] and to be without gender,[4][5] yet the concept of God actively creating the universe (as opposed to passively)[6] has caused[dubious – discuss] many religions to describe God using masculine terminology, using such terms as "Him" or "Father". Furthermore, some religions (such as Judaism) attribute only a purely grammatical "gender" to God.[7] Incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence (being outside nature) and immanence (being in nature, in the world) of God, with positions of synthesis such as the "immanent transcendence" of Chinese theology.
God has been conceived as either personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[8]
There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,[9] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and creator of the universe.[10] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is", "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה, which means: "I am who I am"; "He Who Exists") are used as names of God, while Yahweh and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH."
"The guilt-free gospel of Donald Trump"
By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor
Updated 4:30 PM ET, Mon October 24, 2016
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/21/politics/trump-religion-gospel/
"If he suddenly came out all religious, that would seem staged to me," said White, who has known Trump for 14 years. "Donald has never been public about his faith, and when he has tried, it has been futile. It's not his language, but that doesn't mean it's not his heart."
For much of the 2016 presidential campaign, religion has receded into the background, mainly because the two major party nominees -- Trump and Hillary Clinton -- rarely talk about their faith. Trump is a professed Presbyterian; Clinton a Methodist."
OK, Twump is Presbyterian, but he is a racist, demagogue, misogynist, white power, bully type of Christian, and you now it. If you refuse to see these flaws, you are ignoring your religion.
""I think people are shocked when they find out that I am Christian, that I am a religious person," Trump writes in "Great Again," a book published during the presidential campaign. "They see me with all the surroundings of wealth, so they sometimes don't associate that with being religious. That's not accurate."'
OK, Twump said he was religious before he became President.
"10 reasons you can’t be a Christian and vote for Donald Trump"
Filed under Commentary at Nov 6, 2017
Written by
Christopher Pieper
Matt Henderson
"As sociologists of religion, we are intrigued by the surprisingly large number of self-identified Christians, especially evangelicals, who support Trump and have voted for him over the more vocally religious Ted Cruz. In past elections, such voters were motivated by moral convictions around abortion, same sex-marriage, and the perceived deterioration of traditional values, and voted predictably for candidates such as Huckabee, Santorum, and most consequentially, George W. Bush."
"Our argument is simple: A Christian who supports Trump either does not understand this person and his positions, or supports him in spite of Christian convictions."
"1. He lacks compassion.
The Bible says: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)"
"2. He appeals to fear and anger.
The Bible says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”(1 John 4:18)"
"3. He is enamored with “greatness” and ego, but has no concern for “goodness” or service.
The Bible says: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5: 5-8)"
"4. He lies — a lot.
The Bible says: “Beware then of useless grumbling, and keep your tongue from slander; because no secret word is without result, and a lying mouth destroys the soul.” (Wisdom 1:11)"
"5. He is hostile to women.
The Bible says: “But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.” (Colossians 3:8)"
"6. He speaks about his daughter in a disrespectful and sexualized way.
The Bible says: “Do you have daughters? Be concerned for their chastity, and do not show yourself too indulgent with them.” (Sirach 7:24)"
"7. He does not attempt to love his enemies, but instead cultivates antagonism.
The Bible says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-48)"
"8. He does not model sacrifice or altruism.
The Bible says: “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30)"
"9. He doesn’t seem to care about the poor.
The Bible says: “Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’” (Matthew 19:21)"
"10. His love of money is more apparent than his love of God or others.
The Bible says: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)"
Here is the link for more if you want to argue or study the issue. "True Believers" will avoid the link I m certain They do not want to question their leader, their "God."
Be brave Kellyanne Conway, go read it. It might open your mind, or not.
