Today is Easter Sunday. That doesn't mean much of anything to me, but it does highlight a curiosity. On this day a billion or so Christians are celebrating an act of sacrifice, forgiveness, and love, actions taken on their behalf by a benevolent god. This is the peak of the Christian year and the most important holy day. So the doctrine of this day must be the most precious of doctrines and the focus of their religious efforts, correct? Come morning a billion people will go out in the world freshly motivated by god's sacrifice, forgiveness, and love. In the United States, supposedly, 3/4s of our friends, neighbors, bosses, and political leaders will be part of that outpouring.
Sacrifice. Forgiveness. Love.
Tomorrow should be a pretty good day.
Does anyone really think tomorrow will be any different from yesterday? Come tomorrow the Christians will act as they always do. They and their church are on the receiving end of sacrifice, forgiveness, and love; the beneficiaries. Not the bearers of.
A sacrifice has been offered on their behalf but they will offer none that benefits another. Indeed, instead of offering a sacrifice they will demand that others sacrifice to them. Gay people will be expected to sacrifice their self-worth and love of another. Women will sacrifice the idea that they are equal partners with men. Other religions will be expected to sacrifice the right to worship as they were taught. Facts will be sacrificed in the fire of Christian interpretations of an error free holy book. Poor people will sacrifice access to health care, food, and education so tax breaks can be offered to the wealthy Christian CEOs and wars can be fought by the Bible believing Generals of the US military.
Think that is a stretch or a twisting of the truth? Christianity is THE religion of the American Conservative movement, and that of conservative movements throughout the world. Vladimir Putin was at mass this morning, most of the members of the Supreme Court, and anyone who is anyone in the Republican Party. Obama was at church this morning. (Maybe the drone warriors will get a day off?) If just the world's leaders who were in church today acted in accordance with the claimed doctrine of this day, tomorrow really would be a pretty good day.
The Christian claim to fame is that they have been forgiven. Forgiving others, however, is beyond them. With the possible exception of Muslims, Christians appear to be the least forgiving people on earth. In the case of even minor doctrinal differences they are incapable of forgiving even each other. The American division of Church and State was institutionalized to keep the churches from each other's throats. Christian forgiveness is evident anywhere Christians take up arms against other Christians, or trade words of hate and disrespect. Forgiveness is rare within the family of the Christian god, there is none left for those outside. That is okay with the Christians. They are, after all, "not perfect, just forgiven".
Love. Christian. Got ya.
Pretty much all one has to do is say the words "love" and "Christian" together, then look around the room. Even in a church most of what one will see is rueful smiles. As bad as the Christians are with forgiveness, at least they have some idea of what the word means. When it comes to love they are clueless.
Only a Christian would equate the word "love" with torturing someone to death. The church made a science of such activity for thousands of years. In Uganda today gay people are imprisoned for life or summarily executed. Christian Ugandans acting in love with the direct support of Christian Americans. Given the power many American Christians would enact the same laws in this country. They call it, "loving the sinner, not the sin."
Christians beat their children in the name of love. Loving Christians demand that god destroy the USA or apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah, and cheered when New Orleans was drowned by a hurricane. As a act of love a Christian will shun friends and ostracize family for leaving a church. Any act of depravity, war, torture, imprisonment, or terrorism can be justified by carefully wrapping it in the word "love". And the ultimate travesty, the "god of love" needing a hell in which to imprison and torture most of humanity for all of eternity.
It would be impossible to corrupt the word "love" any more than already accomplished by the Christians.
Today a billion Christians celebrate being blessed by god's sacrifice, forgiveness, and love. Tomorrow, armed with those same words, they will go out and do immeasurable harm to the rest of us.
