by whereami 30 Replies latest jw friends
Brad O'Leary, author , "America's War on Christianity"
"Well, it's a battle that is going on all over the country that we don't notice because it is a little bit here and a little bit there. Where pastors in some cities are told that if they want to hold a Bible study group they have to get a permit because they are going to cause traffic problems with ten or fifteen people coming to their house for a Bible study group."
The Christianity of today is different than it was 1000 years ago, changed again after the invention of the printing press allowed the laymen to read the Bible for the first time ( hey ,the Bible doesn't say that) and now The Internet has allowed people to find out that the Bible is not what the clergy have claimed it is. In another generation that 80% number might be less than 50%.
The Biblical cycle is(almost) complete. http://v-a.com "There was famine in Canaan, Jacob and his sons went to Egypt and lived as slaves, they were freed from Pharaoh's oppression and lived in the Wilderness for forty years, then they were shown a new land of Milk and Honey, but they still weren't ready for freedom, so they ended up as slaves in Babylon for another generation, and then the Prophets told them about the Messiah who would come and free them forever.........(But their final oppression was yet to come......) Americans fought for their independence for almost another century and finally they were free of England and taxation. Then they fought again, this time among themselves in mid-1800s to decide the issue of the new pecking order. The American Civil War claimed the lives of just about all the able-bodied men in America. It took another century before America got back on its feet and became a habitable land again. Then men's greed took over and the whole world began to suffer the oppression of a new pecking order. In the US the Stock Market crashed and there was a famine. The people of the world could no longer look for America to save them, so they fought among themselves for agricultural land. America decided to impose taxation on its own people and went to war in the 20th Century on behalf of the workers who didn't mind paying taxes. Since most of these people had come from Europe, America became a haven for Europeans. Non-Europeans weren't used to living like this, so the US imposed a quota system to keep their immigration to a minimum. America became the land of the free for the poor and the wretched. America's greatness was built from this pool of desperate humanity that only wished a bowl of soup and a piece of bread to fill their stomachs. They worked their tails off and put their lives on the line to defend their freedom as well. Americans fought two major world wars to defend their way of life. Under President George W. Bush Americans reached their zenith as a Christian Culture. Bush declared in his second inaugural speech that freedom was the gift from God and that America would fight for freedom everywhere. President Bush freed the Iraqi people from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. American soldiers gave their lives on behalf of Iraqis and gave them the opportunity to hold a free election. Then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California declared the war to liberate Iraq as a grotesque mistake......Yesterday, the Fox News Channel declared that President Bush had gone too far.... Americans are now the most overtaxed people in the world. Land, food and all the commodities are too expensive for Americans. There is too little incentive for Americans to grow food and manufacture products. Obama and the Democrats are like vultures waiting for Americans to provide them with their next meal. The American experiment has come to a screeching halt. There is a famine in the world and no new horizons left.Americans are now a diverse group of people that live as minorities. President Obama comes from a very diverse background. He represents Muslims, Catholics, Atheists, Europeans, Africans, and Blacks(and don't forget homosexuals and witches). The American economy depends on an international conglomerate of businessmen who will invest in America again if Americans are willing to work for reasonable wages. That may entail giving up some of their cherished freedoms, such as their faith in Jesus and their spirit of independence. They must allow Islam to take hold in America the way it did in the Soviet Union and now increasingly in Europe, Asia and Africa. This will reduce tensions in the world and allow for a new world order. Then other groups will also be allowed in, such as the Buddhists and the Hindus.We are essentially entering the new age of American diversity, separation of church and state and European socialism. It is all comparable to the Tower of Babel: human diversity living under the umbrella of one world order. The President could be from any culture or religion. This is a time for diversity, freedom of expression, and freedom of information. This new world order is most conducive to the free enterprise system and international in spirit.Americans have unraveled as a nation. They are no longer a melting pot of many cultures. They no longer have common values. Americans are a diverse society made up of many races and religions that have decided to co-exist and work together in the free enterprise system for the benefit of international businessmen, entrepreneurs, and the multi-national conglomerates."
The ONLY thing the WTS ever got right: "Religion is a Snare and a Racket!"
Atheists aren't at war with Christianity, they're in an intellectual battle against dangerous belief in fairy-tales.
Point well taken, MS. Some of us are covertly at war with the WTBTS, however. Sometimes the only effective way to battle dangerous belief is to attack its source.
Under President George W. Bush Americans reached their zenith as a Christian Culture.
I wouldn't have used the word zenith. I would have used the word nadir.
Americans are now the most overtaxed people in the world.
Sorry, you're wrong. For personal tax rate, it's Belgium. US personal tax rate is around 22nd highest among industrialised countries. Unless you consider US corporations as people. For corporate tax rate the US is tied for first place with Japan and Germany.
Obama comes from a very diverse background. He represents Muslims, Catholics, Atheists, Europeans, Africans, and Blacks(and don't forget homosexuals and witches).
Not an Obama fan, I take it? I see you have prejudice and bigotry down pat.
That may entail giving up some of their cherished freedoms, such as their faith in Jesus and their spirit of independence. They must allow Islam to take hold in America the way it did in the Soviet Union and now increasingly in Europe, Asia and Africa. This will reduce tensions in the world and allow for a new world order. Then other groups will also be allowed in, such as the Buddhists and the Hindus.We are essentially entering the new age of American diversity, separation of church and state and European socialism.
That's some of the flakiest stuff I have read in a long time. There is already clear separation of church and state in the US. It is how the US was founded. You should go back and read your history again.
It is all comparable to the Tower of Babel:
I was wondering what the punchline would be. Wrong again. Not even close to comparable.
I agree that "worship" should be primarily a private rather than public affair but I'm not sure that ALL references to God, Jesus, religion, spirituality etc. should be removed from public view, especially in art or music. That sounds like a dangerous form of censorship to me. The WT confuses "worship" with respect for culture all the time (the flag salute, not standing during the national anthem, holidays, yadda yadda) and I'd hate to see the government make the same mistake.
This is exactly my feeling on the matter. I am a conservative and an agnostic and think that total removal of any scrap of past religious tradition and art would make society poorer, not better. A perfect practical example would be the (to me inexplicable) battle the ACLU and secularists fought to get rid of the crosses in Las Cruces, New Mexico. As if that was the most important thing they had to do at the time.
Some of us are covertly at war with the WTBTS, however. Sometimes the only effective way to battle dangerous belief is to attack its source.
Absolutely. Education is the key, IMO.
"FOX News is laying the foundaton (and has been for quite some time) for creating fear of religious persecution among their idiot audience. This plot should be intimately familiar to JWs - create an enemy, create fear of persecution by that enemy, establish a sense of self-righteousness, and finally, interpret benign occurrences as "persecution." By then, some people can be led by the nose in spite of a mountain of facts..."
[hi-liting & underlining mine...]
Yes, you're absolutely right, Bizzy Bee; but that has actually been the pattern of Christianity throughout its entire existence. The Romans wouldn't have persecuted the Christians if the Christians had declared simple loyalty to the Emperor, and hadn't been so arrogant and abrasive in their exclusionary behaviors; the Christians caused many a riot by physically attacking followers of other religions - and that was BEFORE Christianity became the 'state religion' of Rome...
For that matter, declarations of "persecution" and other inflammatory appeals to religious zeal have generated wars and violence wth appalling frequency throughout history - and not just perpetrated by Christianity, either...
The Christians used imaginary "persecution" as an excuse to invade the "Holy Land" - remember the Crusades?
Hitler used imaginary "persecution" of "German citizens" in Poland as an excuse to invade Poland - anyone here ever seen the propaganda film - I think it was directed by Fritz Lang???
During the lead-up to the Vietnam war, the Buddhist priests were striving to have the Catholic priests expelled. The declarations of "persecution" by the Catholic priests help start the "police action" by the French, which ultimately led to the Vietnam war... I suspect that the Buddhist priests were also yelling "persecution", too... Remember the Buddhist priests who soaked themselves in gasoline and burned themselves to death, in protest??
Screaming "persecution" is usually the first sly act - or the last resort - of a bully...
Zid
Well, my spidey powers tell me that a little more than half of America is "religious" leaning with only about thirty per cent of them actually active in church and charity.
The rest of the "believers" just have warm, fuzzy feelings and no attendance or even benevolence of a formal kind.
The rest (the other half) are pretty tired of the pomposity connected with religion and not just Christian religion.
Of that group, I'd say less than fifteen percent are actively trying to pressure schools and civic government to stop flying the banner of JESUS everywhere and pretending it has to do with the "Founding Fathers" and all that nonsense.
Anybody who isn't sick of public displays of religion has led a sheltered life.
I can tolerate it...barely.
