Posts Tagged ‘Christianity’
Kilroy Says: Liberals are hypocrites

Have you seen the recent news about Carrie Prejean? If not, she is the reigning Miss California and just finished first runner-up to Kristen Dalton, the recently crowned Miss U.S.A. Yes, Carrie is beautiful. Yes, she is smart. But, she is also a self-proclaiming advocate for traditional marriage. In fact, some may say that she would be Miss U.S.A., if only she had only compromised her values.

In the Miss U.S.A. pageant, Carrie was just another contender. However, she has been explosively propelled to a lofty status, that is, since she honestly answered a heatedly controversial question. Apparently, the answer did not fit into the ideology of the judge who asked the question. Apparently, freedom of speech has boundaries. Apparently, disagreeing with a "liberal" constitutes crossing those boundaries.

The question? The not-so-simple question was this: What were her “beliefs” on gay marriage?

As you probably know, Carrie courageously professed her dedication to “traditional” marriage (one man, one woman), and has since been lambasted by the gay-sympathetic left. She has been demonized for her beliefs, under the indictment of “intolerance,” but her honesty is really what doomed her. The mere fact that Carrie believes that marriage is sacred, and is reserved for “one man and one woman,” has jettisoned her into the limelight of pop culture.

So, who is intolerant? Let’s place Carrie’s comments next to the comments of a leading liberal celebrity, Jeanine Garafalo. Let us measure “intolerance” solely on the merit of their comments. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” I have been told. How will they compose themselves, at least when on camera? Here we go:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/ao30LeM_JYQ" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/pqiTfm-Umxk" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

So, you decide. No. I'll tell you- liberals are hypocrites. Regarding the left,  I have never seen such vitriolic hate painted as "tolerance." But then, tolerating conservatives was never a promise of the Left, was it?

 
SAVE YOURSELF!

Ever wear a life preserver when you were in a boat? Ever wear your seatbelt when you drive? Ever get a flu shot?

Those are all actions that many folks choose to avoid because they’re inconvenient or uncomfortable, despite the fact they could save your life. Gambling with your life is pretty foolish. Gambling with damnation is stupid.

Chairman Maobama has declared the United States not a country of Christians, but people with "ideals." That’s very sad, as ideals won’t save your immortal soul.

I know that the whole debate of science vs religion is a heated one, but I’d say that around the world, over 80% of all human beings believe there is a life after death. Here in the U.S., the belief in the afterlife is so strong we’re in a current upsurge in Ghost-oriented TV Shows, where folks try to take pictures or record spirits at haunted sites.

So, I’m not going to argue whether or not we have souls. If you think you don’t, stop reading.

If you’re still with me, I’m going to ask you a simple question: Do you want to save yourself?

Before you get all uppity, I’m not suggesting that you log off the internet and plop down in front of Trinity Broadcasting or dash out to buy some evangelical biography. I’m suggesting you form your own opinions. And to do that, you need to go to the source: the Bible.

Some of you may not want to read the Bible. You’ve gotten a pretty distorted vision of what Christianity is from television preachers, out to make you donate your hard-earned cash, until it hurts. Or you’ve seen preachers like Jesse Jackson stick their nose in politics and offer sermons that seem counter to what they claim Christianity is. This may have even driven many of you to read the Koran, or the tales of Confucius, or maybe L Ron Hubbard’s greatest work of fiction.

But have you read the Bible?

Up until a few hundred years ago, most folks couldn’t read the Bible, or the Koran, or any religious text. Illiteracy was wide spread. Instead, folks had to go to Church, temple, etc., and listen to someone tell them what was in there.

But you can read.

Have you ever read the Bible? How about just the New Testament? The first Four Gospels? One of the Gospels?

You’ve read novels. Maybe you’ve read stereo instructions or the manual that came with your new car. You clearly read a lot on the internet. Are any of those readings going to save your immortal soul?

When it comes to Christianity, it strikes me as just such an amazing bout of laziness for people to not read the Bible, at least once. Instead of listening to what one person tells you what you have to do to be saved, why not find out for yourself?

I would love to pose the question to our "President" from Kenya. "Have you ever read the Bible?" We know that he is thoroughly familiar with the Koran, having been educated in a Islamic schools as a child. But did he read the Bible himself, or just sit in Reverend Wright’s church for 20 years listening to what is allegedly in the Bible?

Finally, here’s something else to consider. People get life insurance, "in case" they die. People wear seatbelts, "in case" they have a wreck. Fighter pilots wear parachutes, "in case" they have to eject from their aircraft. What if the Bible is right? What if your immortal soul will spend eternity damned unless you follow some simple Bible teachings?

I know that Americans tend to let others do their thinking for them these days — who to vote for, what clothes to wear, and even what foods to eat. But when it comes to something as important as where you’ll be spending eternity, don’t be a slacker. Read a Bible at least once.

No one else can Save you — you have to Save yourself.

 
Welfare falls short of Christian charity

The favorite example of Democratic righteousness is the party’s support of the welfare system. They claim that if conservatives really cared about Christian values and helping fellow Americans in need, then the Republican Party would favor policies that tax the rich and redistribute wealth to the poor. Liberal Democrats point to government assistance and the welfare state as a model of Christian charity in action. In reality government welfare is at best a pale reflection of true Christian giving.

Admittedly, the welfare system was designed for a noble purpose – to assist the less fortunate either financially or through other means including food, housing, and work programs. Certainly this type of assistance benefits many people. And those who work for or support government sponsored welfare programs generally have the best intentions at heart. They genuinely want to make a positive difference in the lives of those who receive these services. I do not doubt the honesty of their convictions, nor should we discredit the good they do accomplish. But in the end government bureaucracy does not fulfill the demands of Christian love of neighbor.

Liberals correctly point out that Jesus commanded his followers to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the sick. The Sermon on the Mount and the command to love our neighbor form the basis for the liberal argument in favor of the “Christian” welfare state. Liberals argue that Christian Conservatives neglect this key element of their faith when applying Christian principles to their own version of public policy. Supposedly conservatives have no heart when it comes to the down-trodden and do not heed the words of Jesus about those in need. In truth, conservatives are not heartless or dismissive of human suffering or ignorant of basic Christian ethics. Conservatives know that the poor suffer and need our help. But they also know that making charitable work an integral function of the government actually diminishes the goodness of charity and reduces its spiritual impact.

Charitable acts, when they are truly “Christian,” not only alleviate the suffering of those in need, which is a great good in itself, but goodness is also found in the giver who makes a willing sacrifice. Jesus tells Christians to help the poor because in doing so we not only help our neighbor, but we too benefit spiritually by strengthening our own faith and by building communal bonds with others. Government welfare on the other hand creates a barrier between the giver (the taxpayer) and the receiver (those in need) that filters out any spiritual context. The poor receive benefits from a faceless and faithless bureaucracy; and taxpayers pay taxes, not out of charitable goodwill or faith in God, but because the force of law compels them to do so under strict penalties. That is not Christian charity; it is simply doing your duty to Uncle Sam.

This is not to say that the government should never play a role in assisting the poor. The government has an obligation to regulate certain variables within the economy to prevent or correct social injustices including poverty. But the primary responsibility for ensuring basic human rights and assisting economically oppressed rests with individuals and private organizations such as churches and civic groups which meet the spiritual and emotional as well as the physical needs of those they serve. A partnership with government that allows faith-based organizations to do the job that government is not equipped to do would be in the best interest of all involved.

Making “charity” a function of the secular bureaucracy, rather than a genuine outpouring of love between individuals, contradicts the true spirit of the Christian message. Authentic Christian charity is given out of compassion and love for humanity, and as an act of obedience to God. From a Christian perspective, our charitable good works belong to God. If we make government the primary facilitator of charity, in effect forfeiting our Christian duty to love our neighbor, is this not in effect giving to Caesar what is rightfully God’s? That is a concept no “party of Christian values” should ever proclaim.