THE DANGERS OF BIBLE-OLATRY AND BIGOTRY

One of the problems with the conservative "Religious Right" is that they don't seem to know Jesus as well as they know the Bible.  And because the Hebrew Bible was written concerning the experiences of the people of God called Hebrews, the Children of Israel, and others who believed in God the Creator, who became incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah,over hundreds of years, there is much in what many Christians call "The Old Testament" that is obsolete because it was about things and situations temporal, not eternal.  In the narrations of the Hebrew Bible are the experiences of individuals and groups of people who related to the Divine, God Almighty, the Living God.

And because what we call "The New Testament" was written over 1900 years ago, we cannot read it without taking into consideration, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the temporal and cultural context about which it has been written and preserved. In the history of the Church of Jesus Christ there are many, many examples of people in power abusing the contents of the Bible in order to kill, imprison, enslave and dominate others. 

The Bible has been used to justify wars and to bring about horrors like the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades.  In the Hebrew Bible it is made clear that God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth is the One True God and Sovereign of all Creation. Some of the people who voted for the current president-elect use it to justify their beliefs as if they are the only ones who can interpret the Bible.

They are stuck in some of the laws of the old covenant and do not recognize some of the most important things that Emmanuel--God With Us taught people and demonstrated to the world about what the Kingdom of Heaven is and how it manifests itself on Earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Reign of God has come to Earth with the coming of the Christ Child, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah.  He demonstrated how our loving God the Father relates to people and wants people to live in beloved community with one another.

One of the most important things that Jesus taught His disciples is that there will be a Judgement Day on which not only individuals, but also nations will be judged.  In the parable of the righteous sheep and the unrighteous goats, Jesus made clear that those nations that did not take care of those people who are hungry, naked, sick imprisoned and/or oppressed will suffer the consequences of neglecting those in need.

And the people of the nations who take care of the least, the last and the lost of those Jesus called "brethren" will reap their reward because they have lived out the only main true law of God -- the law of "caritas" -- merciful love.

I am sick to death of people who claim to follow Jesus, but really want to build walls around themselves and others who believe as they do.  I am very sad for them and pray for them, but the people they neglect and oppress -- and the ways they vote for those who only serve wealth, power and money instead of loving and serving people just makes me sick.  That is because what they believe is being lived out in such a way that people will suffer and die because of the policies that the new administration espouses and that the Republicans in Congress continually espouse.

I would love to be able to only write about God's love, explain what Jesus came to do, and write uplifting, encouraging snippets and meditations. But just as Jesus not only taught about and demonstrated the Father's love, He also dealt with sickness and evil.  His purpose in coming to Earth was to atone for the sins of all humanity and to bring all of Creation back into harmony with God the Father and Creator.  

After His resurrection, he remained with His disciples off and on and many people witnessed that He was once again alive before He was taken up to Heaven after promising that the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, his Holy Spirit would come to be with those who believed and believe in Him.  

Whenever we are not living out the Fullness of the Gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit, but only exist by what we believe the Bible is telling us, we can't but fail to be His disciples.  Each person and each church has his or her or its own way of interacting with God the Father and with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit -- or not.  None of us have the right to judge and condemn people, only Jesus can and will do that at the one time in the future when the Last Judgement will happen.  

Nevertheless, we can decide whether what we or anyone else is doing is loving and righteous.  We CAN and must follow Jesus by taking care of people in need -- by sharing the Love of God in Christ through loving activity.  

Words are not enough, as important as they may be.  Love in action is all that counts and the only true witness to God's love in Jesus Christ,

The Bible is very important, too, unless it is being treated as an idol. When the Bible is being used to promote slavery, hatred, oppression, domination, cruelty, bigotry, hatred and racism, those activities can never be assessed as being part of the Gospel of God in Christ Jesus.

May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and yours Beloved, tonight and always.

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