Sunday, April 03, 2005

WAR CRIMES? WHAT WAR CIMES? JESUS OF NAZARETH & THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT


WAR CRIMES WHAT WAR CRIMES ? THIS IS JUST THE GUYS HAVING SOME FUN !!!
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INSTRUMENTS OF TORTURE FOR THE NEW INQUISITION ??? THE AMERICAN WAY TO DEMOCRACY!!!
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Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

But heres a few words anyway:

From THE NEW TESTAMENT here are some qoutes of Jesus of Nazareth found in THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT from THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATHEW :
chapter 5 - chapter 10

MATHEW : Chapter 5

5.Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
9.Blessed ar the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said,An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall thee on thy right cheek,turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shall love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you...

MATHEW : Chapter 6

14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through or steal:
21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

MATHEW : Chapter 7

1. Judge not , that ye be not judged.
12. Therefore all thing whatsoever ye would that men do to you, do you so even to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mathew Chapter 10
16. Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Examining these words of Jesus of Nazareth I do not see any command to go to war or to seek revenge or to hate all those different from our selves. Instead much of the message is one of love, mercy , forgiveness & even showing love , mercy & forgiveness to one's enemies & not just the mere appearance of these but that these feelings must be deeply felt as part of one's whole way of treating others & even how we think about them.

I do not find in these passages anything which says that being materialistic & accumulating vast amounts of wealth is part of the Christian view of the world.
Jesus says one cannot serve both God & Mammon. Mammon representing materialistic wealth . Jesus doesn't say go out & make as much money as possible & in doing so give no regard to others. To refuse food, clothing & shelter Jesus says is the same as refusing these things to Him.

I also can find no passages which defend making profits off of war & the suffering of others.

I also find no passages that defend abusing prisoners or torturing them. In fact, Jesus says to forgive your enemies & show them mercy & even to love them.

Now when Jesus says to not pile up your material treasures of money & gold because moths & rust will spoil them. I don't think He is saying that you should store your treasures in a drier environment or in a good bank where they will be safe.
Not being a true Biblical scholar I might be wrong maybe heHe meant for Christians to invest in the Stock-Market or a Savings & loans. This interpretation is probably closer to what George W. Bush , Cheney, Rumsfeld & Conolezza Rice believe.

It always stikes me as odd how rich so many Christian Evangelical Ministers or Pastors are. Why do they need grandiose mansions & cadillacs & Mercedes when they supposedly live in the Mansion of the Lord their God.

And why do all these Christians Evangelicals or Fundamentalists & others who have a similar mindset hate with such passion people who happen to be GAY. Surely a good Christian would forgive someone who is Gay & try to understand them & show them some compassion rather than treating them as they would Lepers. But Jesus believed one should not treat Lepers with any less compassion & tenderness & with " Natural Affections" as one would treat a member of one's family or a stranger. Just remeber the story of the "GOOD SAMARITAN" .

But in the end The Religious-Right & their fellow travellers the NEOCONSERVATIVES will like the Pharises spend their time splitting hairs & will rumage through the Bible to find a passsage or two somewhere to justify & rationalize their own greed , prejudices, bigotry & narrow mindedness & their own desire to one way or another dominate the rest of the world. And of course the American Religious Right believe they have a right to their " pound of flesh"(Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice)

This sort of rationalizing is interesting in a way because the same process seems to be at work in the twisted views of the Extremist ISLAMIC religious leaders who bend & twist the QURAN & the traditions of the Hadith to suit their own agenda which seems to have little to do with The Prophet Muhammad (PEACE BE UPON HIM).

Anyway that is enough for now,
GORD.


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