Last updated on February 7th, 2013 at 09:42 pm
Around the world there are only a handful of countries that self-identify strongly with a religion as the driving force of their policies and style of governance. Most people immediately think of Islamic nations in the Middle East, but to hear Republicans and fundamentalist Christians tell it, America is a “Christian” nation founded on bible principles despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary and the Constitution’s separation of church and state provisions. What is a certainty, is that based on their opposition to helping the least fortunate among us and their Republican-inspired reverence for the wealthy and contempt for the poor, many conservative American Christians are not followers of Christ. The opposition to healthcare reform two years ago and the persistent Republican meme that healthcare was a privilege reserved for those fortunate enough to be able to afford it was, in large part, supported vehemently by conservative Christians and it exposed them as liars when it came to their purported faith.
Now that the Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, the same so-called Christians are out in force promising to help Republicans repeal the law that helps over 30 million Americans enjoy good health, and leading the charge is the biggest liar in America, Willard Romney. What is curious, is in promising to repeal the ACA, Willard Romney not only displays anti-Christian sentiments, he bases his agenda on a pack of lies that the Christian bible considers one of the top 10 sins adherents of the faith can commit. First and foremost, it cannot be stressed enough that Romney is not a Christian by any stretch of the imagination so it is possible that in the Mormon religion, lying to punish the poor is a requirement. However, Romney’s cult aside, it is the conservative Christian’s abhorrence to helping less fortunate Americans that is remarkable, and it is a mystery why more “true Christians” are not rising up and condemning the selfish and contemptible opposition to helping millions of Americans have affordable health care insurance, or food stamps or housing assistance or educational opportunities.
There are some Christians speaking out against the false Christians’ contempt for the poor, but if America is a predominately Christian nation, there should be a deafening roar of outrage at the Republicans’ perpetual mistreatment of children, seniors, and working-poor struggling to survive in an economy created by the GOP. Instead, the uproar is coming from conservative Christians and they are lining up behind and parroting Romney’s lies about the ACA and its impact on the economy, and as Americans have heard for the past three days, the abject lie that it will be the undoing of America.
Regarding the $95 tax for not buying healthcare insurance, it is only for Americans who can afford insurance and refuse to buy coverage. If Romney read the ACA, he would know there are financial hardship and religious exemptions built into the law so those people who cannot afford to buy insurance will not be penalized, and for millions of Americans who already have health insurance the issue is moot. Willard lied when he said the ACA would cause Americans to “lose the insurance they currently have, the insurance that they like and they want to keep,” and it goes to the lengths Romney is willing to go to convince conservative Christians to help him prevent 30 million Americans from obtaining healthcare insurance.
For conservative Christians to rail against healthcare for all Americans indicts all Christians as mean-spirited and selfish. For the uninitiated, Jesus admonished his followers and taught that the rich should sell all their belongings and give the proceeds to the poor. The Affordable Care Act does not require any American to sell anything for the poor, and yet there is Romney and his conservative Christian supporters lying to prevent other Americans from having health insurance. Where are the so-called “true followers of Christ” speaking out against the contempt for the poor, and especially the lies Republicans are spreading as a means of convincing other Christians to join their cause? Obviously, a great majority of American Christians subscribe to a different version of Christianity than their namesake Jesus Christ preached.
It is bad enough that America is drifting toward a “me only” society where personal enrichment supersedes any sense of community well-being or Christian charity, but that it is being championed by so-called Christians and their clergy is shameful, especially for those who truly aspire as followers of Christ. The conservative Christian agenda is rapidly becoming as far-removed from Christ’s teachings as the Sun is from the Earth, and as the country devolves into a hate-fest toward the poor and impoverished, it is little wonder the rest of the world views American Christianity as little more than a bastardization of Ayn Rand ideology. The level of hate and greed that is becoming the hallmark of the religious right is a disease that is being transmitted, ironically, through churches all across America, and it never ceases to amaze humanists how a Christian adherent can clutch a bible to their bosom while working tirelessly to strip assistance from the poor, and worse, condemning them to poor health and an early death because they consider something like affordable health insurance a privilege.
There have been occasions in the past when one might have seriously wished America was a Christian nation that took Christ’s commandment to care for the least fortunate and seek peace seriously and help create an exceptional nation. However, now that conservative Christians have transformed the religion into a selfish, Draconian faith of contempt, one hopes it vanishes to save what is left of this country’s once renowned compassion and care for its least fortunate citizens. Sadly, American Christianity is devolving into a hateful religion based on greed with tacit support from other Christians who fail to speak out against what is becoming a religion of hate and lies, and now is being promoted by a Mormon who epitomizes everything Jesus Christ condemned. Who knows, maybe there was another “latter day revelation” from some angel to conservative Christians that Jesus was a rich Mormon who hated the poor and exalted the wealthy and his fake Christian name was Willard Romney.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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