FEATURED ARTICLES
- The Crusaders, Rolling Stone
- Rejecting Jesus' Extreme Makeover, by Dawn Baldwin
- RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE: GodAssault, By Lisa Lambert
2 QUOTES OF THE DAY:
"Violence and weapons can never resolve the problems of man... When war,
like the one now in Iraq, threatens the fate of humanity, it is even more urgent
for us to proclaim, with a firm and decisive voice, that only peace is the way
of building a more just and caring society."
- - Pope John Paul II
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also."
- - Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 5:38-42)
KNOW YOUR HISTORY:
April 18th
1955 -- Former US Army sergeant Patrick Stout, who had entered an atomic
bomb crater in Alamogordo, New Mexico to demonstrate that it presented no safety hazard, dies of leukemia. Doctors attributed Stout's contraction of the disease to atomic radiation exposure.
1958 -- The relative death of Albert
Einstein, pacifist,
scientist, and oh yes, socialist, in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1949,
he warned of our current neo robber baron coup when he wrote, "Human
society is passing through a crisis ... The economic anarchy of capitalist
society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil...
The result of...[the concentration of private capital in a few hands]
is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be
checked even by a democratically organised political society."
1969 -- West Germany: First march against nuclear arms.
1970 -- American Indian Movement activists begin 5 days of sit-ins at several Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices across the U.S.
RHINO HERE:
They say the man known as Jesus once said in a speech on a mountaintop, that,
"The prophets of old said, 'Thou Shalt Not Kill', but I say unto you that
thou shalt not be angry with thy brother for it is the same thing." The men
who created the King James Version of the Bible thought the Sermon on the Mount
was so important that they printed it with red ink, juxtaposed to the rest of
the book's black
ink. So what did he mean? And what do the politically active Christian fundamentalists
think Jesus meant when he so clearly preached against violence and anger.
Mathew reported that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said, 'An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, don't resist him
who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the
other also." (Matthew 5:38-42)
Now granted, The Rhino is a multi-denominational believing heathen who, in the eyes of the Christian right soldiers, was 3 strikes away from heaven 13 years before his Bar Mitzvah, but please, someone tell me how these people rationalize away the teachings of their main man!
Then there's Pope John Paul II, who couldn't have been clearer when making
his thoughts known about George
W. Bush & Company's wars said, "Violence
and weapons can never resolve the problems of man... When war, like the one
now in Iraq, threatens the fate of humanity, it is even more urgent for us
to proclaim, with a firm and decisive voice, that only peace is the way of
building a more just and caring society."
How can anyone in their right mind consider themself a Catholic or a Christian, and yet justify lavishing billions of dollars on weapons contractors while cheerleading for the pious war monger neo-robber barons who are running the U.S. Government?
Rhino snorts, "Ponder the following 3 perspectives of these wolves in
Christian clothing!"
(o/)(o/)(o/)
The Crusaders
Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image
By BOB MOSER, Rolling Stone, 5/8/05
It's February, and 900 of America's staunchest Christian fundamentalists have
gathered in Fort Lauderdale to look back on what they accomplished in last
year's election -- and to plan what's next. As they assemble in the vast sanctuary
of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, with all fifty state flags dangling from the rafters,
three stadium-size video screens flash the name of the conference: RECLAIMING
AMERICA FOR CHRIST. These are the evangelical activists behind the nation's
most effective political machine -- one that brought more than 4 million new
Christian voters to the polls last November, sending George W. Bush back to
the White House and thirty-two new pro-lifers to Congress. But despite their
unprecedented power, fundamentalists still see themselves as a persecuted minority,
waging a holy war against the godless forces of secularism. To rouse themselves,
they kick off the festivities with "Soldiers of the Cross, Arise," the bloodthirstiest
tune in all of Christendom: "Seize your armor, gird it on/Now the battle will
be won/Soon, your enemies all slain/Crowns of glory you shall gain." Meet
the Dominionists -- biblical literalists who believe God has called them to
take over the U.S. government...
MORE: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/7235393?rnd=1113062695995&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.857
(o/)(o/)(o/)
Rejecting Jesus' Extreme Makeover
I just can't figure it out. I'm someone who enjoys trying to make sense of things. And I must admit I'm stumped. I don't understand why anyone would court Armageddon with the giddy adventurism of GW and his band of believers. But when I consider the report card St. Peter might have close at hand when they line up at the pearly gates, their lust for death and the means to procure it seems a perverse suicide wish indeed. Christians believe that all sin is an offense against God and a rejection of his perfect love and justice. Jesus taught that the most grievous sins are those committed willfully, with the full knowledge and consent of the sinner. A person who commits a mortal sin knows it is wrong, yet goes ahead and does it anyway.
The difference between a mortal sin and sin committed in ignorance is analogous to the difference between premeditated murder and manslaughter. Surely our leaders, many of whom wear their born-again Christian credentials on their sleeves, received this training in Sunday Bible school. After all, they are the ones who seem to believe that the country would be vastly improved if the Ten Commandments replaced the Constitution as the law of the land. Have they read them? What part of "Thou shalt not kill" is ambiguous?...
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0417-30.htm
The difference between a mortal sin and sin committed in ignorance is analogous to the difference between premeditated murder and manslaughter. Surely our leaders, many of whom wear their born-again Christian credentials on their sleeves, received this training in Sunday Bible school. After all, they are the ones who seem to believe that the country would be vastly improved if the Ten Commandments replaced the Constitution as the law of the land. Have they read them? What part of "Thou shalt not kill" is ambiguous?...
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0417-30.htm
(o/)(o/)(o/)
8:29:51 AM 
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