What I Learned from Tommy

RIGHTEOUS!!!

You said it!

We need MORE testimony like this!!!

'Tommy' didn't change, because the process of becoming free from such an addiction is not quick and easy. And Tommy's friend's 'change' from his belief in the simple Truth of God's Word came about because that belief was shallow, at best.
Homosexual thoughts/actions are progressively addictive in the same way heterosexual thoughts/actions are. And addicts don't ever "choose" to be addicts.
Just like there are drug addicts (some of them are addicted to legitimate drugs--some to illegitimate); there are also those who are addicted to sexual activity--normal or perverted. Homosexuals don't necessarily 'choose' to be homosexual, anymore than pedophiles or serial killers 'choose' to be what they are. But somewhere in each and every one of their pasts, they 'chose' to mentally dwell on, and ultimately act on, perverted thoughts and temptations.
Such actions led to additional and more perverted actions, which ultimately led to their addictions--which they did not 'choose'.
'Tommy' is still 'gay' for the same reasons porn addicts are still porn addicts, whoremongers are still whoremongers, pedophiles are still pedophiles, etc. And that reason is because he is not willing to accept the Truth as well as the responsibility to find God's "way of escape" from the grip of this ungodly temptation.
In one way, 'Tommy' has much less going for him than the other addicts... Tommy's 'friend's' cave under pressure from the likes of the so called 'progressives' and rob him of Truth and the Love of God through which, with some willingness and effort, Tommy could have been set free.
EH

Now wait a minute here, Eddie. If you would, please re-read your post comparing homosexually-oriented people to pedophiles, drug addicts, serial killers and whoremongers. Gay people are not inherently evil or self-destructive any more than straight people are. Over the course of my 45 years I've enjoyed friendship with and blood relationship to many gay people in long-term, committed, same-sex unions. My gay friends and family members work hard, pay their taxes and generally go about the business of doing their best in the world, just like most straight people do.

Do whacko, sicky gay people exist? Sure they do - just the same as whacko, sicky straight people exist.

From reading much of what you've written perviously on this site, I find your comparison of gay people to serial killers ill-informed and disappointing to say the least.

Jason, god spoke to me and commanded me to tell you that any homosexual who lays down his life for another will indeed spend eternity on the right of His throne. He also told me to tell you that should any homosexual be persecuted for His namesake,he will indeed spend eternity in heaven. He said that when He promised that there were no strings attached. On the other hand, He told me to tell YOU that you are treading on thin ice and He'd thank you to let HIM decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. He said if He catches you playing God again, He's going to put a boil on your ass. that'll be your last warning, He said, so watch it!

Isn't it amazing how these trolls can take something that is positive and rather powerful, and turn it into something negative?

I think that part of the problem is the stereotype of a homosexual as someone who is hedonistic. Although I've had some pretty horrific problems with hedonistic homosexuals myself (sexual harrassment on the job), I've also encountered those who were NOT. I also read testimony like that above, and it reinforces something that I have learned- people are people, and you can't really assign characteristics to the individual based upon their being part of a grouping (such as ethnicity or sexual orientation).

This means, yes, there can even be decent and caring fundamentalists, although I will say that does seem a bit of a dichotomy to me.

Fundamentalism and Biblical literalism has destroyed the lives of so many people. Indeed, I would take it one step further- IGNORANCE has destroyed the lives of so many people.

There is only one word for that- EVIL.

And, Eddie Hughes, god told me to tell you He's about had it with you. He said to tell you that less than 5% of the world's population is homosexual, but the number of children in Iraq is well over 5% of that country's population and they are being slaughtered everyday. He said that because you and people of your ilk helped that dickweed George Bush become president, He's chalking that innocent blood up on your account. He said don't bother begging His forgiveness, He's put out as all hell with you. He said to stop whining about gay people and make yourself useful for once in your pitiful life and, then, He MIGHT consider sending you to purgatory instead of straight to hell. You could get out of purgatory in a couple of centuries, but, He said He'd better hear a sermon from you this coming Sunday denouncing Bush and the murder of innocent Iraqi's. And He told me this warning to give you: He will vaporize you right where you stand if you so much as utter the term "collateral damage' in that sermon.

Right, Bob. Fundamentalism and biblical literalism have not only destroyed many lives, they've become the "face" of Christianity in the U.S. at which the rest of the world laughs and jeers.

I wonder why homosexuality and Christianity are seen as being so mutually exclusive. When you look at the LGBT folk calling for full inclusion, you've got a bunch of people who are about as hetero-normative as they come. In their drive for inclusion, they have lost the potential for a true critique of gender and sexuality in the church. Monogamy is not challenged, premarital sex is sidestepped, barriers that still remain to the full participation of women are put on the backburner, and issues of race and class within Christian denominations are hardly breached. Christianity has a lot of issues it needs to work through. LGBT people who want to marry each other and raise families with 2.3 kids and 1.4 dogs seem like nothing next to the real issues in the church.

Nicely put, John g. I'm sure that there are historical roots in the exclusivity- but the church has been wrong many times before, and finally corrected itself.

Part of it may come from a lack of understanding. Shoot, only in the last couple of decades has gender been properly studied, and there is STILL a lot that is not known (and new findings every day). The problem is assumptions- instead of examining beliefs, people just take them as true- and then it is a shock when they learn otherwise.

People also don't know to distinguish between something that is inherent and something that is learned. Most of human behavior is learned, but there are also inherent aspects (such as instincts- people DO have them) and even inherent traits that are influenced by cultural factors or pressures. Sexual orientation would fall in this third category.

I think sexual orientation is like your favorite type of food.
Ya know, kinda "inherited" kinda "learned".

One day, you realize that Indian food is your favorite. You didn't ever consciously choose it to be your preference, it kinda chooses you. And at the same time, if you lived in a different part of the world, under different circumstance, maybe at a different time, and ate different foods, you might have a different favorite.

And ultimately, for those who see the Bible as general reference instead of literal history lesson, the origens of sexual preference are of no importance.

Those who point the finger the most reagarding gay issues are the ones pointing 3 fingers back at themselves. Hypocrites in every sense of the word. I doubt eddie is an exception:

from CNN about one hour ago:
"The Rev. Ted Haggard, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, resigned after a male prostitute said the pastor paid him for sex over three years." He also just admitted to buying meth from him.

Oh yeah, Haggard was leading the charge to ban gay marraige, of course...

THAT was truly magnificent! I am amazed to read such a beautiful "conversion" story of a conservative christian, and realize that it appeared in a Southern Baptist related publication. As for what Eddie wrote, I yet again remind everyone that Eddie has, on this board, defended usury, which The Bible refers to as unlawful and an "abomination", and yet, being the worshipor of Mammon that he is, he has decided to conveniently "ignore" those injuctions, WHICH, by the way, outnumber the injunctions against homosexuality by a considerable margin. Of course the same Levitical Law that Eddie would quote from (and which Jesus REJECTED and REPLACED with His New Covenant) also has numerous injunctions and instructions that he does not observe. But worst of all he has committed blasphemy in suggesting that God's Love can somehow be taken away ("robbed") if a homosexual person does not give up their homosexuality. It is a blasphemy to suggest that God would stop loving ANYONE. I have no doubt God still loves Satan, just as He loves all of the fundies and ultra-conservative "christians" (comparison intended) who have driven so many from Christ's arms through their defilement and subversion of the Christian religion into a mean-spirited dogmatic cult which seeks to justify greed, prejudice, and violence. As for homosexuals being compared to pedophiles and serial killers, Eddie has already been reminded that for homosexuality to exist in the number of people that it does (a number which is many times that of all of the pedophiles, serial killers, etc. combined), it negates any possibility that this is either a "chosen" orientation OR a psychological abberation. Plus you are talking about sexual relations between consenting adults, so comparing that to pedophiles or serial killers is beyond repugnant...but then, consider the source...

Peace and Blessings.

Brother Damien

All I can add is: YIPPEEE! YEA!!! Brother Damien is back in fine fettle with his reasoning that is always calm, compassionate and thought-provoking.

Cathie, if you will re-read my post, as you suggested I do, you will not find anything that says that gay people are any more "inherently evil and self destructive" than straight people. Actually, they are equals in that department.
There are plenty of 'straight' people who, as I was saying, are addicted to illicit sexual activity also. And though you praise the 'gay' friends and relatives you have, who are "long-term" and "committed" in their relationships, there are no doubt, many 'straight' people who are also 'long-term and committed' in their fornication. But there is no virtue in being 'committed' in a sinful situation. The only virtuous and honorable sexual relationship is between a man and a woman who are married.
As far as my 'comparing' homosexuals with serial killers and the like--I'm sure you purposely miss the point. There are certainly different levels of harm and effect in their actions... But they are in the same class concerning the fact they are addicted to perverted thoughts and behavior, and the addictive paths they follow, lead to pain, death, and destruction--both in this world, and in the world to come.
I am not the first, who in written format, has listed the homosexual (committed or not) with other fornicators, addicts, and criminals...
"...Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."
--I Cor. 6:9-10
And you are certainly not the first, Cathie, to be lacking the intestinal fortitude to address what I say without first distorting it. Hander, Damien, Bowers, and even gpope (and the demon "god" who speaks to him) are way ahead of you.
EH

Eddie -- If all those listed in I Cor. 6:9-10 are prohibited from the kingdom of God, then hardly anybody will make the cut. It's a good thing faith trumps all else and that it is God rather than St. Paul who is the judge.

You know, EH... I USED to think like you do. Let me set you straight. Homosexuality is NOT a sexual addiction.

I was wrong about that and you are too.

An addiction starts by EXPOSURE to a chemical or stimulus (in other words, in this case homosexual activity). There are a multitude of stories of homosexuals in fundie churches who discovered (to their mistaken horror) as they reached puberty that they were attracted to members of the same sex, and not to the other sex. There wasn't sexual activity to START the addiction, so homosexuality cannot be an addiction.

I know you tend to ignore scientists and scientific findings unless they fit your prejudices, but take this as fact- there is a HUGE difference between homosexuality and addiction.

Homosexuals are also NOT all hedonists. They are people JUST LIKE YOU and all Christians.

I'm wondering- like the other trolls, you are openly hostile towards homosexuality. Could it be that you're another Ted Haggart?? Maybe another Foley?

Or maybe you're another Ralph Reed?

No, my friend... You never 'thought like I do'. And you have not the knowledge, nor the Standard of Truth within your heart wherewith to 'set me straight'.
The soul of any person who watches typical TV programs, movies, or even just the commercials, has plenty of 'exposure' to sexual perversion--more than enough to stir evil passions and plant the seeds of addiction.
You are "wondering" ('hoping', more likely) if I am "another Ted Haggard"?... I will say this... I certainly am just as capable of sinning, lying, disappointing God, wife, and family... I have just as much need for the mercy of God in my life as Haggard, Foley, or even you.
May I also say, that whenever I have been guilty of an offense against God--even if it was something I had denounced while preaching the Word--it did not make me a hypocrite... It only demonstrated that I was a sinner. I preach what I know or believe to be true and try to live up to it. A hypocrite, on the other hand, conforms his or her beliefs (and rhetoric) to their chosen lifestyle.
A hypocrite is more clearly manifest in one who claims to be a Christian and condones what God's Word denounces--or condemns what (or whom) God has justified... Those who call good, evil--and evil, good, are hypocrites, not 'progressive'.
If Haggard is indeed, guilty as charged, his sin is no more sinful, just because he preached against it. He is certainly no worse than the one who distorts or denies the Scripture in a vain attempt of self-justification.
Regretfully, however, Haggard's reputation and notoriety would cause his sin to have a much more devastating effect on sinful society and the spiritually weak, because it now becomes useful to the despisers of God's Word in their relentless war on Truth.
EH

Dispisers??? War on Truth???

You know, Eddie Hughes, you sound just like Gary,"ice wolf" and the other trolls that have infested this sig-Bigoted, Judgemental, and WRONG.

PROVABLY wrong.

You're talking just like the racists and other willfully ignorant people who turned Christianity from what Teyose wanted (a good, healing, SUPPORTIVE thing) into something that is bondage AT BEST.

Just as I was before and even after I walked out and renounced the Assemblies of God, you seem to be quick to reject anything that rocks your nice little cyclic argument worldview (you know- the Bible is true because it says it is and so on). It took exposure to reality and DECADES of healing for me to get free of the EVIL TEACHINGS of that denomination.

And like I asked Gary- You are obviously hostile to anything we stand for (and I would include TRUE Christianity), so WHY ARE YOU HERE???

Bob,

Eddie is here to speak the truth to people who despise the truth. Like you.

Gary... you were banned for breaking the rules of this blog. You have no business being here and posting anything after being banned is a violation of the standards and rules of this blog.

It may also be a violation of the standards and rules of your own ISP.

You're not welcome here.

Bob,

The truth is, I have not broken any rule here that you, and others, haven't also broken, unless there is a rule against telling the truth, and if there is a rule against that, then I'm guilty.

If the hate-filled swill that Eddie, Gary & company spew is THE TRUTH, I'll glady spend eternity stewing in lakes of unquenchable fire or doing whatever it is that defines the fundies' current vision hell.

But before I'm damned to that state of being, I sure do hope mean, bad, ole wrathful, vengeful god will give me time to find somebody to take my place three times a week for Meals-on-Wheels routes and help my employer engage another in-home caregiver for its elderly clients.

Well, maybe not.

That kind of god is only interested in being worshipped, adored, flattered and especially FEARED. That god cares more about coercing the bended knee and bowed head by threats than about encouraging genuine reverence, thanksgiving and loving actions.

Even if a person lives to the grand old age of 105, s/he is doomed to eternally endless eons of hellish torment for failure to capitulate to this god's capricious temper tantrums.

This is God? Oh, please.

There is just no Biblical support for promoting homosexuality. The Gay Agenda is an attack on the Gospel, as it completely ignores sin and allows affirmation for complete rebellion.

Homosexuality is a desire and and activity. It can be avoided no differently than walking by a Playboy magazine, or not picking up someone in a bar.

So gays and lesbians are the ultimate sexists?

That is what they are proclaiming. They cannot possibly "love" (eros) someone of the opposite sex?

That certainly opposes Christ Jesus on marriage and family.

Once you start denying Christ to support your personal choices, then indeed you have stepped away from the Church.

Progressives raelly do not fool any Christian walking in the faith delivered once to the Saints.

Same old Molech worship sold under a different label.

King Bera (King of Sodom) lives within this new and insidous liberal/progressive "movement" not to return America to anything positive and Christian, but to lead America "backwards" and back to a time of such evil, that indeed judgment of our land is coming.

It is not a political game to oppose the truth of the Gospel.

And "love" does not mean "anything goes."

Your organizational statement tells of Christians "appropriating the language of Christianity" to spread their hate message, etc.

In fact, your organization is DENYING long-held language of Christianity which says that people were created/designed for sexual relations and procreation and the formation of families with persons of the opposite sex in monogamous and holy matrimony--

and you are appropriating the language of Christianity to say that God the Father and Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit through the biblical writers --because of their grace, compassion, and teachings against judgment -- never meant to prohibit homosexuality --any more than they meant that modern day Christians should avoid all the prohibitions of rabbinical law. If we can now eat shell fish and pork, you reason, we should have the right to intercourse with persons of the same sex --through whatever bodily orifice can give an orgasm. Seems to me there is a big difference between the health complications encountered by certain foods before they had remedies for allergies and salmonella --and God's design for our pro-creative bodies.

You also reason that if Sodom and Gomorrah were evil in ALL ways, their homosexual approach to the angels was only evil in its lack of hospitality; you say the homosexual acts themselves were not beyond the pale --though for thousands of years of recorded history, that was considered to be the most egregious/shocking sin of those cities.

I have no confidence in your forum --I will be blasted, descended upon as if by vultures, before I am banned from participating--that's how much such forums are MIS-appropriating the language of Christianity to justify hatred and censorship of those you call bigots --when hatred of homosexuals isn't my characteristic or motivation at all. And when it is only RECENT that the language of Christianity was used to defend homosexual acts.

I just truly believe that the most happiness, mental and physical health, and hope for the future CAN be derived through "functional" marriage and family life based on Christian principles for loving relationships and Biblical morality. I also believe the Bible is God's Word for today on issues of sexual morality --and that Word is very clear and consistent in both testaments in its prohibition of same sex relations. The bible says it is a sin for which we must repent --just like any other sin --and we are all guilty of sin in need of the Savior.

As for Jesus --He said a man should leave his parents and cleave to his wife --and should not divorce --He gave no exception for homosexual lust and feelings!

To Haggard's credit, I hear he has admitted that it was a grievous sin to do what he has done --and not just the hypocrisey of it --but the sex acts themselves with strangers for which he was so ashamed that he hid his problem.

Just ask him when he had his first homosexual experience or started to indulge in a secret gay fantasy life due to some problem between his ears; that is the defining predictor of gay and other addictions, not genes. God did not make us --or design us for homosex. He designed us for the opposite sex --perfectly. Anything else is a perversion of the norm and short-circuits his plan that we should grow to be unselfish people in the process of marrying one who differs from us --and parenting children with them -one man with one lifetime female mate, ideally, providing new souls for the worship of the Lord.

It think it was first corinthians:
"Love includes all things..."

There is no Gay Agenda. There is a Fundamentalist Agenda. And it's slowly being exposed for the hypocrisy that it is.

"Al", your whole understanding of the issue is faulty and based upon lies preached by fundamentalist preachers who play upon stereotypes and prejudices.

You might also be surprised to learn that what we say is FAR closer to, as you put it, "faith delivered to the saints". We STUDY that faith- in context, looking at the beliefs of the time, examining it from all angles so we can strengthen and work on our own.

Teyose (Christ Jesus) also emphasized faithfulness- so do we. He never said ANYTHING about homosexuality (that was mentioned by the authors of the New Testament!. It is arguable that Paul was talking about homosexuality, and clearly arguable about the old testament passages (and especially the fundamentalist/dominionist beliefs based upon the old testament.)

Faith is about a relationship between the person and God, it is NOT about trying to force others to live a "holier" life (based upon your own beliefs).

Eddie hughes --that was an excellent teaching about the definition of hypocrisey! Thank you. However, it does occur to me that when Paul said we shouldn't judge --he added, "because you are guilty of the very same things." This would make "judging" one of Haggard's sins --that he judged others for what he himself was doing in secret. One might still define that as hypocrisey. Though I appreciate the distinction you make --and how you point out that it is ALSO serious hypocrisey to distort scripture and call good evil, and evil, good, because of perverse desires that are counter to God's plan for our bodies.

The abuse of the word "judgment," of course, is common in these forums --when we say that preaching against sin as defined by the Bible is judgment. No, that is merely 'telling forth the Word' --which is the prophetic function of the believer. Haggard did that --he preached the Truth about homosexuality --while struggling with it and failing in secret.

As an obese person myself, I understand the problem with besetting sins --and I need to be more remorseful for my failure. I admit to self-justification and rationalization by saying that my mother started me on food at a very early age --and it's not something I can quit cold turkey --ever. (I like cold turkey! chagrin!) And it's also true that my overreating mostly hurts me and none other --though it may take me out of life sooner than God would otherwise wish to take me --and deprive my family and these forums of my loving, charming, enlightening presence! :- D O dear --sounds like the sin of pride?

Yes, indeed, we all need God's grace! even those who defend His Word as truth --as did Haggard --as do I --as does Eddie.

"because of perverse desires that are counter to God's plan for our bodies."

AS DEFINED BY YOU.
It's all subjective in the end. How can you not see that?

The Bible is a 2000 year old text written by many authors, from many places, over many years, each with their own human agendas. It has been recopied countless times, translated, re-translated, canonized, books deleted, added to, and tweaked for 2000 years. Since then thousands of denominations have fractured from the Christian church, with mutally exclusive ideas on almost every topic including homosexuality, all based on the same supposedly clear and consistent Bible. Then, you're local pastor interprets it's meaning, and then you interpret their interpretation.

Oh, but "you're right" of course. And everyone else is "wrong."

In the end, no two people are going to see the same on everything when it comes to "defining" God. So trying to figure out who's right regarding God is like trying to figure out who's right regarding their favorite flavor of ice cream.

It will never happen. Need proof? See current state of a little planet called "earth" (and welcome back btw).

Now, most fundies don't want to hear this because it puts them in the uneasy area of having to think on their own (god forbid!), but that is exaclty what you have to do. That is what God wants you to do. Think and feel on your own.

How else can you have the personal relationship with God that Jesus spoke of it you never make it personal?! The answers are NOT black and white. They are all shades of grey. And as upsetting as this may be for your mind (logic) it doesn't make it any less true.

In the end, it is up to YOU, personally, to decide how you define God. Without that personal element, you do not know God at all. You merely know a Book, or a pastor, or a story.

And the best part is, THAT is exactly what Jesus was talking about the whole time! He came to bridge the gap between us and God. Yet you stop and worship the bridge. Never crossing it. Without the personal step, on your own (and I mean ON YOUR OWN) you are merely a Bibliofile and historian. Not a Christian.

Does that mean you're going to hell? Nope. It just means there is more out there. That's the best part!

Once you stop believing in a thing because you "have to" or because "the Bible says so" or as a means to avoid going to hell, then FREE WILL takes on a whole new meaning. You choices really are free, not "free with a gun to your head". Your relationship with God (and Jesus) becomes much deeper and fuller. Far more personal and fulfilling. It allows you to embrace the full the complexity of life and therefore God. It includes all forms of knowing God, mine, yours, and everyone elses.

But if knowing God in a more personal way is not for you, or not for you yet, then so be it. I have no need for you to follow me, or conform to my beliefs. I make space for you to decide and grow on your own. Who knows, maybe you're light years ahead of me on the "enlightenment" path. I'm OK with that.

But regardless of who's more enlightened, what's important is that we allow each other the space to hold our own views. The space to grow and change. We allow and even encourage free thought and expression.

That is:
WE ALLOW FREE WILL.

And that is really all I lobby for here. Free will. The ability to choose, ON OUR OWN, where we are with God, where we are with life, and where we are with issues like homosexuality.

I'm sure you would agree that to force a person to be a Christian would violate their free will and therefore be meaningless. In the same way, to force a person to adhere to your personal religious-based thoughts regarding homosexuality would also be to violate their free will, and be meaningless.

Literally, meaningless. Even if you think being gay is a sin, if you force someone to ACT the same way you FEEL, then you have just robbed them of their free will. By your definition, you have robbed them of their chance to choose between God and "sin".

So in the end, if you decide that homosexuality is a sin, then I say OK. That is your call. BUT PLEASE ALLOW OTHERS TO CHOOSE ON THEIR OWN JUST AS YOU HAVE.

Treat gay marraige like you do divorce: You probably see it as a sin, but you allow it to be legal nonetheless. Despite how you feel you let each person decide on their own.

Greg

greg, that was ONE AWESOME argument!!! I've not seen it written so clearly or properly.

It is also helpful to me- being an A/G walkout and still dealing with their spiritual poison 25 years later.

THANK YOU!!!

thanks Bob that means alot.
It means alot becuase if I listen, even for a micro-second, to the fear of the fundamental message then i start to doubt. As much as I see through their veil of fear, it's easy to let it infect me too.

Ya know.
It's like I'm thinking "Am I crazy here, or do these fundies seem crazy?!"

In the end, I don't know any more than the next guy. I'm not trying to tell God how He is or isn't. I'm just trying to follow the Love whenever I can. :)

greg

Greg,

That was indeed a fantastic post!

The thing that never ceases to amaze me is the utra-conservative/fundie willingness to reject logical, rational thought, which in itself is a denial of God, since God gave us this ability to reason in the first place, just as God gave us Free Will TO USE IT. When they're bothered with scientific data that doesn't fit into their pseudo-christian mindset, it is simply tossed aside. The earth becomes 11,000 years old, dinosaurs cavort with cavemen who look just like us, and homosexuality is "unnatural", despite the fact that homosexuality has been found to exist in a number of other animal species. Are these animals "defying God"? How or why does a homosexual person "choose" this orientation in the first place? Are all of those conservative christians who shave their faces "defying God"? Because clearly God intended for human men to have hair on their faces. Or what about the fact that conservative christians have one of the HIGHEST divorce rates of any group in the United States? And what happens if we encounter highly advanced beings from other worlds? Will this group of religious luddites deny that such beings possess divine souls merely because they don't have the same physical form as us? Should Man even be flying, since he/she was not born with wings? When you try to put God in a box, and claim to understand the mind of God, it is as blasphemous as claiming that a book penned by human hands is as infallible as The Living Word of God, Jesus Christ.

The Bible was always intended to be a pointer to the TRUE Word of God, The Incarnate Word, Jesus. In His teachings we find ALL that we need for salvation, and just as the Old Covenant was made "obsolete" (as Paul reminds us in Hebrews), so we are called to a new directive to weigh EVERYTHING against what Jesus actually instructed, and that includes the rest of The Bible, Old And New Testaments. One either believes Jesus IS The Incarnate Word of God or one does not, and it is pretty much that simple. If you believe that He is, then your concentration is on doing the things He actually SAID to do, such as rejecting the accumulation of earthly wealth and power, feeding and clothing the poor, tending to the sick (generally putting one's focus on The Least of These), rejecting war and violence (THE PEACEMAKERS shall be called The Children of God), and embracing both forgiveness and TRUE righteousness, which is ONLY achieved through following Christ's commandments (IF you love me, obey MY commandments) which are found within The Gospels. What continues to bother me about the "Religious Right" is that while they scream and pull their hair out over gay marriage, flag burning, and evolution, they are not marching on Washington or the various City Halls around the nation to decry the (over) 50 million Americans who are going without basic necessities; or the 46 million who can't afford health coverage, or the fact that usury is practiced blatantly in this country, burdening and enslaving God's children under the yoke of an unbridled "Free Market System" (which is the biggest joke, because that Market is ANYTHING but free); or the issue of torture (how can a Christian even DEBATE this issue?!?!?); or the need to better feed and medicate our brothers and sisters on the African continent (in particular after the attrocities in the Darfur region of the Sudan). If Jesus said that the measuring stick by which He would separate The Goats from The Sheep was how concerned we were for the poor, the sick, the oppressed, and the disenfranchised (which DUH, HE DID!!!!!!!), then WHY are these people not focusing in on what they are SUPPOSED TO ACCORDING TO THE DEITY THEY PROFESS TO WORSHIP?!?!?!?

Peace and Blessings.

Brother Damien