From Howie:
A little history lesson you may enjoy(--sigh--)
I thought that you and others may like to see this. One detail that is not mentioned, in DC, there can never be a building of greater height than the Washington Monument.
With all the uproar about removing the Ten Commandments, etc. This is worth a moment or two of your time. I was not aware of this historical information.
On the aluminum cap, atop the Washington Monument in Washington DC, are displayed two words: Laus Deo. No one can see these words. In fact, most visitors to the monument are totally unaware they are even there and for that matter, probably couldn't care less.
Once you know Laus Deo's history, you will want to share this with everyone you know. But these words have been there for many years; they are 555 feet, 5.125 inches high, perched atop the monument, facing skyward to the Father of our nation, overlooking the 69 square miles which comprise the District of Columbia, capital of the United States of America.
Laus Deo! Two seemingly insignificant, un-noticed words. Out of sight and, one might think, out of mind, but very meaningfully placed at the highest point over what is the most powerful city in the most successful nation in the world.
So, what do those two words, in Latin, composed of just four syllables and only seven letters, possibly mean? Very simply, they say "Praise be to God!"
Oh, man, I just love it when right-wingers start to lecture about (what they call) "history." Here's a little note: there's a difference between "history" and "myth." George Washington was a historical figure. Zeus (for instance) was a mythological figure.
Now, there's nothing wrong with myth. Myths are essential to human understanding of life. But they're not history. It's important to think clearly about that. Now, I believe in God (here's another piece of irony for you, Howie, because I think I believe in God probably more strongly than the gobshite who sent you this piece of crap). "God," however, is a myth. Don't be a right-winger now and jump on the surface of my words and proclaim, "Aha!!! You don't believe God exists! You are an atheist!" I just got finished saying that I believe very strongly in God. God has given me everything in my life. Sometimes the things She has given me were out-and-out gifts, and sometimes they were challenges--tests of strength? Tests of faith? Or mere challenges? Wake up calls? I can't be sure, because (unlike the President) I don't suffer under the delusion that God talks directly to me (there is a term for such a phenomenon, by the way, and it is "psychosis").
God exists. But She has left no record of her existence (unless you're going to tell me that the Bible is the literal "word of God"). God implies Her existence, and it is up to us to discern it and recognize it and appreciate it--or not.
The people who created the old testament stories, passed them down orally for centuries, and then finally wrote them down (by the way, they wrote them in a highly ambiguous orthographic system that had no vowels, but represented only syllables whose meanings changed dependent on the spoken vowel sound used, so at some point, once these stories were written, someone had to decide what each word meant as they read them, as it wasn't clear from the text--this is centuries before the alphabet was invented, and this is also where the Jewish tradition of Talmudic scholarship comes from), could have been, may have been, and I believe were inspired by God. But it is also important to note that they could have been wrong. These stories began to be told about 6,000 years ago, and weren't written down until between 3,000 and 2,500 years ago. Things get mixed up. There are two divergent creation stories, for instance, in the book of Genesis itself. It came from two seperate sources. But the ancient Hebrews who told these stories, and eventually read and interpreted these stories, knew it was part of the process to try to figure out their meaning. They didn't believe that it was the "literal word of God."
The New Testament, of course, is another story, and Christians especially should approach it in a different way. If you believe the Christian "myth" (and I do) Christ was both God and man. Christ was both outside of history and historical. The stories about Christ contained in the New Testament have at least the patina of history attached to them. Some were possibly written by people who actually knew Christ. There are certainly texts (although rejected by the early church fathers for inclusion in the official canon of writings we call the New Testament) that were written by contemporaries of Christ.
And so Christ did exist, and was a historical figure. We know that because we have evidence of his life. But the idea that Christ was also God is a myth (i.e., we have and can have no empirical evidence that God even exists, so how can we have evidence that Christ "is" God?). Here is where faith comes in.
Faith is belief where there is no evidence. I'll go further: faith is belief where there is evidence to the contrary. And I'll add a corollary: If you have evidence, and you believe because you have evidence, there is no faith. And if the evidence you have is bogus, then you are a gobshite. Let me make this clear: You can have two people who say they believe in Christ. One believes he has evidence (the "literal word of God") that explains everything to him. God said this, so it must be so--factually so, historically so, empirically so. When the evidence proves to be "nicht sehr gutt," this person turns his back on the facts that undermine the evidence, and demands that his evidence is "true" and unassailable. The battle over creationism is an example of this. This is the mindset of fundamentalism, and by the way, this is the mindset of all fundamentalism, whether it is Christian, Jewish, or Islamic. The other person has no evidence. The other person sees corruption all around him. He sees death and war and hatred and greed and everything that God (if She's out there, somewhere) despises. Everything that Jesus taught about seems to be undermined in the world. The meek inheriting the earth? Yeah, show me. The peacemakers entering the Kingdom of God? Where do you see that happening? But this person believes anyway, and tries to live his life according to Christ's example. That is real faith.
Why do you need to believe so badly in the myth of the Christian nation? Would that somehow make you feel justified for all the evil the US is doing in the world right now? Would that allow you to say, "Well, we're really doing God's work here, so even though it looks bad now, good will come of it because God obviously wills it." Howie: Christian is as Christian does. That's the bottom line. And you know, even if those tablets in the Supreme Court building were the ten commandments (historical documents indicate they represent the first ten amendments to the Constitution--the Bill of Rights), and even if the top of the Washington monument does say "praise God" (and, by the way, laus deo does not mean "praise be to God" which is a triumphalist slogan, like "look at how great God made us," it means "praise God" which is an admonition, an imperative, a warning), and even if the founding fathers did intend America to be a Christian nation (and historical evidence indicated that they didn't, but you don't care about history except to make it up and spread lies that pose as "history"), doesn't mean that today we're being a Christian nation. Because we're not. I'd love it if this nation, and this President, who call themselves "Christian" would actually be Christian. No one would be happier than I. But they're not, and consequently, we're not. On the contrary, we are a nation of idolators, worshipping a false God, a God who apparently believes that we are responsible to one another only to the extent that free-market forces demand we be. Christ, Howard Raymond, was not a Republican, no matter how hard you want to make him one. That is idolatry, and it is blasphemy.
Howie, do you go to church? Do you read the bible? There's no judgment here on my part. I don't believe for a second that going to church or reading the bible makes you a "good" person, and not doing so makes you "bad." That's more bullshit. But I'm trying to understand how and why this (incorrect and really quite harmful) myth of the Christian nation has become so important to you. I do read the bible, nearly on a daily basis (for some years now), and I know I've sent you these very passage before. But I'm sending them again, and I wish you would read them and really think about them. They may tell you something about certain people in oour public life right now who claim to have "the truth" and lead others down a road to destruction. They may also tell you something about love and forgiveness, and what Christ really wants us to do during our brief time on earth.
Matthew 5:1-12
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 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 be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 19:16-26
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 23:1-33
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind ones! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and selfindulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
John 8:1-11
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
There's plenty more where that came from, Howie, and if I sometimes (always?) seem obnoxious and preachy, I apologize. But the "blind guides" who are leading this country right now are leading us not to Christ, but to lies, and to damnation. The "christ" that they refer to, and the "christian nation" they believe they are a part of, has nothing to do with Christ, and nothing to do with the Kingdom of God (unless, like them, money is your god).
I ask you, very humbly, and without judgment, to read these, read further in the New Testament, and look deeply into your heart. Christ is a Christ of love and forgiveness. He is not the "kick-ass" Christ of the last 30 seconds of Mel Gibson's "Passion." He is the Good Shepherd, and he wants us to be Good Shepherds, too.
If you can't see this loving Christ after deep contemplation, it doesn't matter. I love you and I will always love you as my oldest friend. But please don't try to convince me any more that we are a "Christian nation," or that Bush is doing "good" (i.e., God's work), unless he actually does have a conversion of spirit and actually does begin to do good. On that day, we'll both rejoice, I promise you.
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