I feel like many Christians in America are completely disconnected from actual values espoused by Jesus in the Bible. Republican (many of the Christians) policy is diametrically opposed to Matthew 25:31. No one quotes John 13:34 because they rather quote Old Testament BS about what’s an abomination. Why not focus on the love for others, including enemies? Why not focus on helping the poor, the sick, the homeless? Why not help the immigrant? The Bible specifically calls this out as a marker of getting into heaven.

Most of these people don’t even read the book. They like the sense of community at a church, but it feels like it’s formed into a total in:out group mentality. We can’t be a Christian nation as long as there are poor & people struggling.

Then the Utah governor says something like, “We can’t have people camping wherever they want.” my emphasis. Bud, they don’t WANT to be homeless. The lack of empathy is so apparent.

I followed the chain down here.

Fuck calling this “Obamacare Price Hikes”. This is Trump’s doing; along with the Republicans. Why isn’t this “Trump hikes”? Oh yeah, everyone just shills now.

I stand humbled!

I’m out of work. Someone from our church gave us $1000 to get by, and another person gave me $200 this morning. We had a member of our choir and AA group talk about gratitude this morning. Our reverend also talked about her AA experience & speak on gratitude.

I’m a Unitarian Universalist. It’s not the religion you’re used to. But as someone that was an angry atheist for ~25 years, I get the critique of faith.

Wishing you much love & compassion homie.

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference.

And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

Elie Wiesel

Ah, so a bunch of geriatrics vote Republican, believe the best times are ahead, and also believe the country is more divided than ever. Contrasted by, the younger voters believe the American dream is dead, and we need radical change.

Also if we’re anonymous, we hate everyone just a little bit more.

We’ve lost the moral center in this country that we pretended to believe. Now we’re steeped in pessimism & sardonic irony. Everything is more expensive to boot.

The older generations in this country have barely any connection to reality. We’re bleeding social services, creating massive debt, & the planet is clearly worse each year. It’s hard to be positive about anything in America right now, unless you love fascist secret police and drink the authoritative, agitprop koolaid.

Everything is a fucking crisis right now.

It’s the Russian dream fulfilled: a fractured, divided union. Not like we didn’t ask for it.

My wife and I were saying that Gen Z and on have no “America was good” reference. I’m late 30s, she’s early 40s, and both of have some image of what that meant. For my kids, I have no clue. We’re in a privileged state, but I don’t feel safe in any way.

100%. The move itself is an admission of guilt compared to past presidencies, D & R. I worry every night for our union in the US. I really don’t know if we’ll last.

Correct. They cannot be separate powers but coequal without the ability of enforcement. If the military is all subordinate to the president, and Congress or SCOTUS don’t have resources to enforce their oversight of the others, then they are not coequal. They are coequal in theory, never in practice.

This guy really doesn’t recognize who he is: racist, driving drunk, irresponsible father. Those kids could have been hurt.

It’s really hard to have sympathy for someone begging to see their kids when they drove recklessly with them in the car.

Also, you know, the whole ripping other families apart, for the law or whatever. I guess he’s cool with enacting destruction, but not so much on the receiving end.

It’s not like I’d expect much self awareness, but come on, dude… “I’m federal.” “Why you fucking me?” “Are you Haitian?” and you can’t walk a straight line? Who is really fucking who? Hint: look in the mirror. Personal responsibility, homie…

Acts 2:43-47 “Life Among Believers”

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.

The believers sold all their stuff, loved everyone, and things were great. If the US is a Christian nation, why aren’t we doing that? (Rhetorical)

This is the Russian plan. It was never about Trump. It was about payback for break up of the USSR.

United we stand, divided we fall.

They’ve made us divided: not MAGA, but the gov’ts abroad who have exported the subversion of a debatable reality. Look at Vladislav Surkov’s strategies and how they are here, in America. You don’t debate your enemy, you debate the notion of truth.

Trump 1 introduced the term “alternative facts,” and now these people sit in a room talking about an ideology as bad, not a formal group or person.

It’s a great community and shares a lot with us. More people should know about faith communities doing the good work in the world, rather than swindling their congregations for mega churches with elaborate shows, while telling people “empathy is not Christian.” It’s absurd what’s happening in those congregations right now.

Religion is a set of beliefs, typically in things beyond what we can falsify (hence faith). It’s not inherently powerful to believe people should be treated with respect. A belief in democracy is a belief in giving others equal power to our own (part of my UU faith).

Unitarian Universalism holds very little power in the world. It’s a beautiful faith tradition. Sure, there are powerful religions, but again, that’s power, not religion.

There are several passages that suggest money & Christianity aren’t aligned. Several passages in Acts talk about the disciples selling everything after Jesus passes and living as a commune with no private property. It says they sold & shared everything together.

There’s the camel & needle proverb. There’s Matthew 25:32. There’s multiple passages that speak of selling what you own and giving it to the poor. There’s Jesus throwing the merchants out in the temple.

When did Christianity become like this? Probably when power saw it could abuse faith, so hundreds/thousands of years ago. Your instinct is great, and you should challenge Christians. I mentioned Matthew 25:32 because it seems so diametrically opposed to what many Christians in power say. We’re supposed to care for the homeless, the immigrant, the prisoner—that’s what this book says.

James 2:15 states that belief is not enough. Belief without works of faith is empty, the same as no faith at all. People telling you they are a Christian while behaving otherwise should be made aware of this passage.

I say this as a Unitarian Universalist. I study the Bible to inform my beliefs, but they are not defined by them. I do think Jesus has been commodified and warped, and the people in power who tell us we’re a Christian nation in the US have lost sight of scripture. They quote the Old Testament and ignore John 13:34.

I also studied all this so when ICE / this government comes for me, I’ll have my receipts. Maybe it won’t matter, but speaking truth to power is important. If so many people believe this book, why do we act like we do? It’s power’s fault, not religion.

Note, I was an atheist for 20 years. I know all about the ills of religion. UU is not like my Catholic Church growing up. If you haven’t been to UU or a Quaker org, it’s worth your time.

My best is: just stop. Yes, Lemmy is like the rural version of Reddit. It’s slower, more niche communities, and not a lot of people making content. But screw Reddit. I was a 15 year reader. They’ve destroyed it for corporate greed. I’m all set.

Favorite, compared to other animals, most people in global north / “The West” and many people elsewhere have some semblance of a normal life, even if the global state is a nightmare.

Least, that we cannot recognize we are one species who could solve a lot of problems by working together. Instead, the selfish & rich create spoilage while being short sighted.