Deconstructing "God's Party"

It is a funny thing. In my experience most evangelicals have a similar take on theology. Of course there are differences that each sect finds highly significant, probably most notably pentacostal vs. non pentacostal. They all think the "early church" was right and that in between constantine all the way to Billy Graham, christianity was under the control of legalists that bastardized the true "early church" teaching that relied exclusively on what they consider to be the only valid interpretation. Yet despite having great antagonism for the post-constantine era and all of the religious leaders of the time, they still hold that the crafters of the canon were divinely inspired to form a perfect canon, and they thoroughly believe that the current canon is perfection, which is inconsistent with their core teachings. For example, they reject all teachings other than what is explicitly in the bible, but there is absolutely nothing in the bible that indicates what the canon should be and there is ample proof of problems with the canon. Now if you ask the same evangelicals what they think of mormons, they will launch into a tirade about how its fake becasue the book of mormon was supposedly delivered directly from god to Joseph Smith, therefore the errors proved that it was lies as god cannot err. But they treat the canon with every bit of the same level of sanctity that the mormons do their book, maniacally focused on every jot and tittle of the law, clinging to the words as if they are the only possible way we could know right from wrong. Believing that if it werent for these words we would be lost in a freefall of moral relativism.Yet archaeology has progressed and we have learned a lot about proper interpretation of ancient languages, we have found newer manusripts, we know the story of the canon being an absolutely perfect compilation doesnt add up. We know we can see additions and changes to the texts over time, and their is no biblical reason to believe the canon is perfect, it is simply a cultural belief that evangelicals accepted directly from the traditions of the crusaders and religious leaders that they abhor.  And then they talk a lot about Jesus and Love before they practice something that is so judgemental and legalistic it would make the pharisees look benign, and they do it all while they are talking about how legalistic the pharisees were. There is an active cognitive dissonance in almost all churches I have been in, worship an idea that talks about pure unconditional agape, no judgment, deep compassion for the weakest, poor and most destitue of sinners, engaging with the diseased and poverty-stricken,  and while this is spoken a culture that practices the exact opposite is instilled into the actions and minds of all these churchgoers. One thing I believe with certainty, if there is any truth to their end-of-days stories, where it is said that many will truly believe they are worshipping god while in fact worshipping the devil ... then it is these evangelicals that fit this description. They preach love and they stand up and fight against every advancement in civil rights and every positive change in society. Their beliefs are all about greed and fear, they are plutocrats and corporatists, worshipping the almighty dollar over all. They would vote consistently to bomb the world before they supported a program to feed our homeless. They could care less that there were aramaic and greek words for homosexuality, and those were  not used in the new testament as they preach hatred towards gays, but their churches halls are lined with adulterers and divorcees. They claim to trust the movement of the spirit, but they cannot tolerate those with different lifestyles nor trust that god can work within them, they do not trust god. They have forsaken science choosing to believe that god only works through a book that has been under control of people who they would describe as the most vile and controlling dictators, yet they cannot accept the unadulterated examination of gods creation.  I have studied in 3 different theological seminaries, and if any of this is true, all of these 'gods party' christians who only use Jesus teachings to create a paradigm where anyone with a different belief is a evil damnable person who deserves an eternity of torture, they are the first that a just god would damn, if a just god could really damn at all given the circumstances we are all in.

Is this what faith, hope or love would want?

Mother leaps to death with baby in her arms after her benefits are stopped Is this what faith would want, is this what hope would want, is this what love would want? Regardless of what is said about our economy, there is still a long line for $6 coffees every time I pass a starbucks. You have forgotten to trust in love, your faith has lost its endurance, your hope is all but gone. We know we need continuously innovate, and we know that when we allow our youth create and innovate, they find passion, and want to work. Remember the heart of a child in school when we were filled with passion and ideology, before this society told you that all you could do was pursue a greed degree for a career in greed, if you want to do something meaningful, you will never be able to keep up with the joneses. Today we see the fruits of this pursuit, the scorched earth policies that have nearly destroyed our society. And today the true answer is still the same as it always should have been, we need to come together in love, to innovate, to solve the challenges of our society, of our world. If you havent noticed, computers, machines, and robots are taking away all of the old jobs, it is now that we must invent and innovate, and renew the spirit of American entrepreneurship and innovation. This is where we excel, this has been our contribution to the world, we are adventurers, explorers and innovators, and it is through this spirit that America will find her way.

Faith

Faith can only be in your heart, faith by definition is not knowledge, and when we try to make faith into knowledge, it kills the essence of what makes faith so great. It is when we try to turn faith into knowledge that we judge others, and it is when we think we know that we feel justified in condemning people. In my pursuit of faith, I tried to pursue knowledge, and in the process nearly killed my faith. Wisdom cannot be written into a book ... despite the fact there were no shortage of scribes Jesus still decided to surround himself with disciples that could not write, perhaps he knew that the "Religious leaders"would have control over the book for thousands of years to come. Yet faith still stayed alive in the hearts of people even with zero exposure to the book, just as faith love and hope live in the hearts of people the world over, despite what the religious leaders say. The religious leaders would say that even though all of the different religious books say that there will be very very deceitful wolves in sheeps clothing, we all should simply believe based on our gut feelings, which has resulted in many different good hearted people honestly believing their contradictory gut feelings which religious leaders have manipulated to get us to dislike, or hate, or even kill other people who really arent that different from us. While religion was sharing the table with kings and monarchs agreeing that kings were ordained and morally superior to commoners, it was evidence and reason that showed us that all of us are equally capable. While religious leaders fueled the fires of racism, it was evidence and the simple purity of love and compassion that taught us that we are all equal. Today religious leaders are striving to teach us that we should only love and accept people that have our same exact belief system, or we should shun, reject, judge, dislike, even hate, all while there is so much suffering in the world. While religion keeps feeding us reasons to dislike others unless they become exactly like us, which by definition is based upon judging others, the whole world shares a common love for goodness in their hearts, and it is religion that teaches them to turn this purity to condemnation for others. Jesus sorrounded himself with disciples that could not write, and the scholars that study greek, aramaic and hebrew from every religion including yours know that all of the manuscripts have been intentionally tampered with. The people who wrote the gospels never even knew jesus, but I think despite all of the corruption imposed by leadership, we can all know the truth by following the most basic principle of love ... focus on helping others in need not as someone who is above but on their level as Jesus did, and have the faith to not worry about making laws that drive division in society ... have faith in love and goodness, and leave judgement of others to god, that is something that should clearly not be left to our limited human understanding. Most importantly to me faith is about leading and living our lives trying to help those in need, loving without any judgement, and leaving the act of moral condemnation to god. If I look at the history of all of the ugly things associated with Christianity or religion, it always has to do with man thinking they are smart enough to assume the role of judgement. What I see when I read between the lines in the bible is that though we cannot know for certain what Christ said, just following the example of getting to know some of the homeless, diseased, sinful and suffering, and learning to have love and compassion without judgement, that is all we need to know god.

My God

My God doesnt exclude anybody. From what I hear, he used to hang out with prostitutes, criminals and outcasts. His best friends were all uneducated and poor. He challenged all of the establishments of his day, and the principles he taught fly in the face of all the establishments that exist today. He taught that not even the brightest among us really knows that much, so we should never judge, despite what we think we may know. A lot of people make all types of rules, just as the establishments and leaders did in his day, but he taught me all that really matters is love, and if we strive to have good intentions, and act with love towards one another, we will find our way. He told me that he made me in his image, and so I know as a father myself, he would never exclude any of his children. He gave to me and all of his children a precious gift: that like him, I have been given my own will, and the ability to create. I know he wants me to do good with these gifts, to create a better world for all of my brothers and sisters in humanity ... for only in each other can we find ourselves. My only hope is that I can be like him.

“Love is your life, your friend, your relative, your food and your everything. Heart that is filled with love can never be polluted. Love is nectarine. Once you fill it in your heart, the poison of evil will have no place in it.” Sri Sathya Sai Baba

"World travel and getting to know clergy of all denominations has helped mold me into an ecumenical being. We're separated by theology and, in some instances, culture and race, but all that means nothing to me any more." Billy Graham

"[He would like to be remembered most for] Groundhog Day, ... As cynical as I like to pretend I am, I have a deep philosophical and spiritual side. I think everyone harbors a craving for meaning in life, and the movie, without being cloying or embarrassing, asserts the possibility of redemption through meaning. Every single religion and psychological discipline has claimed the movie as what they believe. I love that. It makes it an ecumenical movie." Bill Murray

“God will not ask you when and where you did service? He will ask, with what motive did you do it? What was the intention that prompted you? You may weigh the service and boast of its quantity. But God seeks quality - the quality of heart, the purity of mind, the holiness of motive.” ... "Creeds, ritual, religion and different theologies are all derived from man’s yearning for the vast Reality beyond - and flow in the thousand different forms, fertilizing many fields, calming many communities, refreshing tired people and, at last, carrying people to the ocean of Bliss.” Sri Sathya Sai Baba

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,^[f you were doing it to me." Matthew 25:34-40