Tommy, You claim: Jesus was a pluralist Liberal who taught that one need not conform to strict and orthodox views of God, religion, and life.
And yet like the control freak he was Jesus said that the ONLY way to "Heaven" was to believe in Him. The only acceptable prayer was/is the "Our Father". There are other examples of "Absolute rule" that must be complied with in order to reach "Christian" Heaven. This does not sound very "Liberal" to me, but more like Marxist/ socialism. On Dec 19, 10:07 am, Bruce Majors <[email protected]> wrote: > but by that definition tommie you are not liberal since you are close minded > > the word "liberal" has meant contradictory things in different countries and > continents. it means pro-peace pro-market libertarian until statists like > you put your shit stained little fingers on it > > > > > > > > On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 11:03 AM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > > Webster's dictionary defines a Liberal as one who is open minded, not > > strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional or established forms or > > ways. Jesus was a pluralist Liberal who taught that one need not > > conform to strict and orthodox views of God, religion, and life. He > > rejected greed, violence, the glorification of power, the amassing of > > wealth without social balance, and the personal judging of others, their > > lifestyles and beliefs. > > > Over and over again, He taught us to believe in and live a spiritual and > > ethical life based in our essential, inherent goodness. What Jesus > > promoted was succinct set of spiritual principals and a way of life > > based upon the of love, compassion, tolerance, and a strong belief in > > the importance in giving and of generosity to those in need. > > > While not Biblical scholars, our common sense understanding of His > > lessons as philosophically and politically Liberal is founded upon Jesus' > > own words (see quotes below), modern interpretations of Liberation > > Theology, and in the positive, loving and compassionate application of > > His teachings - from the many early Saints to Mother Theresa and > > Liberation Theology. > > > Certainly, Jesus brought a radically Liberal theology to the Orthodox > > believers of his time. Jesus IS a Liberal even today because now more > > than ever, His principals align with the very core of Liberal Beliefs. > > Biblical Quotes Supporting the Belief that Jesus Is A Liberal > > > Peacemaking, not War Making: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they > > shall be called the children of God. [Matthew 5:9] Resist > > not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to > > him the other also. [Matthew 5:39] I say unto you, Love your > > enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and > > pray for them which despite-fully use you, and persecute > > you; [Matthew 5:44] > > > The Death Penalty: Thou shalt not kill [Matthew 5:21] > > > Crime and Punishment: If any one of you is without sin, let him be the > > first to cast a stone at her. [John 8:7] Do not judge, lest > > you too be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be > > judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to > > you. [Matthew 7:1 & 2.] > > > Justice: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after > > righteousness: for they shall be filled. [Matthew 5:6] Blessed are > > the > > merciful: for they shall obtain mercy [Matthew 5:7] But if ye forgive > > not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your > > trespasses. [Matthew 6:15] > > > Corporate Greed and the Religion of Wealth: In the temple courts > > [Jesus] found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and other > > sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, > > and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; > > he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their > > tables. [John 2:14 & 15.] Watch out! Be on your guard against > > all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of > > his possessions. [Luke 12.15.] Truly, I say unto you, it will > > be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 19:23] > > You cannot serve both God and Money. [Matthew 6:24.] > > > Paying Taxes & Separation of Church & State: Render therefore unto > > Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the > > things that are God's. [Matthew 22:21] > > > Community: Love your neighbor as yourself. .[Matthew 22:39] So in > > everything, do to others as you would have them do to you. > > [Matthew 7:12.] If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess > > and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. > > [Matthew 19:21] > > > Equality & Social Programs: But when you give a feast, invite the > > poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, > > because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection > > of the just. [Luke 14:13 &14.] > > > Public Prayer & Displays of Faith: And when thou pray, thou shall not > > be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in > > the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be > > seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. > > But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast > > shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret… > > [Matthew 6:6 & 7] > > > Strict Enforcement of Religious Laws: If any of you has a son or a > > sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take > > hold of it and lift it out? [Matthew 12:11] The Sabbath was made for > > man, and not man for the Sabbath. [Mark 2:27.] > > > Individuality & Personal Spiritual Experience: Ye are the light of the > > world. [Matthew 5:14] > > > More: > >http://www.jesusisaliberal.org/ > > > On 12/19/10, Bruce Majors <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Jesus Is an Anarchist > > > (A free-market/libertarian anarchist, that is--otherwise what is called > > an > > > anarcho-capitalist.) > > > > by James Redford <[email protected]> > > > The above title may seem like strong words, for surely that can't be > > > correct? Jesus an anarchist? One must be joking, right? > > > > But you read correctly, and I will demonstrate exactly that. At this > > point > > > you may be incredulous, but I assure you that I am quite serious. If you > > are > > > a Christian and find the above title at all hard to believe then you of > > all > > > people owe it to yourself to find out what the basis of this charge is, > > for > > > if the above comes as news to you then you still have much to learn about > > > Jesus and about the most vitally important struggle which has plagued > > > mankind since the dawn of history: mankind's continuing struggle between > > > freedom and slavery, between value producers and the violent parasitical > > > elite, between peace and war, between truth and deception. This is the > > > central struggle which defines mankind's history and, sadly, continues to > > do > > > so. As Christians and as people in general, what we choose to believe and > > > accept as the truth is equally as vitally important, for ultimately it is > > > people's beliefs about the world that will shape and determine what > > outcomes > > > transpire in the world. If the mass of people believe in political > > > falsehoods and deceptions then mankind will continue to repeat the same > > > gruesome mistakes, as it does presently, and the aforementioned struggle > > > will continue to be no closer to a desirable resolution. Genuine change > > must > > > first come by changing one's mind, and if what one had believed before > > was > > > in error then one cannot expect good results to proceed forth from it. > > And > > > all change starts with the individual. You can help change the world by > > > simply changing your mind. All I ask of you is to believe in the > > truth--know > > > the truth and the truth will make you free (John 8:32). > > > > It is the purpose of this document to demonstrate the above claim, and if > > > you are a Christian then I submit that it should be your task to honestly > > > consider what is presented here, for if the above claim comes as a > > surprise > > > then I will show that what you thought you knew about Jesus was not the > > > whole story: Jesus is far more radical than many would have you believe, > > and > > > for good reason--it threatens the status quo. For the consequence of this > > > truth becoming understood and accepted by even one-tenth of the > > population > > > would be quite dramatic indeed: governments would topple like so many > > > dominoes. For as the 16th century Frenchman Étienne de la Boétie observed > > > in *The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary > > > Servitude*(http://www.blancmange.net/ > > > tmh/articles/laboetie.html< > >http://www.blancmange.net/tmh/articles/laboetie.html>), > > > all governments ultimately rest on the consent of the governed, even > > > totalitarian dictatorships. Now this "consent" does not have to be in the > > > form of active promotion and support of the State, it could simply be in > > the > > > form of hopeless resignation, such as accepting the canard "nothing's as > > > sure as death and taxes." All governments can only exist because the > > > majority--in one form or another--accept them as at least being > > inevitable. > > > They believe in the deception that even though government may be evil > > that > > > it is nevertheless a necessary evil, and therefore cannot conceive of a > > > better alternative. But if such were true then Jesus Christ's whole > > message > > > is a fallacy. But such is not the truth, there is an alternative: > > liberty. > > > And I will show that Jesus has called us to liberty, and that liberty and > > > Christ's message are incompatible with government. > > > > You may wonder where I got the one-tenth figure from in the above if all > > > governments require the acceptance of their rule by the majority of their > > > population. Again, the reason is because this acceptance doesn't have to > > be > > > active support but merely resigned, as it usually is. If just one-tenth > > of > > > the population strongly believed that government was itself the greatest > > > moral evil and that there was a better alternative it would be enough to > > > turn the tide. Since most people are followers and uncritically accept > > the > > > reigning political opinions, those who do not accept the status quo and > > who > > > are able to form and articulate a critical alternative will come to be > > the > > > intellectual leaders by default when the popular regime suffers a crisis > > and > > > people begin to look for alternatives. If the history of governments > > teach > > > us anything it is that such crisis is a regular occurrence, for > > governments > > > by their nature tend > > ... > > read more » -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
