The selling of Jesus....

[Clearwater AL]

The selling of Jesus during the Super Bowl. There will be two 30 second
commercials during the game. Each 30 second commercial will cost
$7 million dollars.

This is all coming from Right Wing Evangelicals putting One Hundred
Million Dollars behind some TV personality who claims Jesus was an
immigrant and a refugee and other untruths. As usual, the money trail
is well covered up and untraceable. Gutless phonies too cowardly to
put their names behind their Jesus.

So much for Jesus wanting to feed the hungry and care for the poor.
This selling of Jesus during the Super Bowl is nothing less than a
mortal sin or whatever your Christian belief may call it.

The Christian phrase “What Would Jesus Do” (WWJD).. sure as hell is
preached by these Evangelicals is exactly where they belong.
And sure as hell I doubt this is something Jesus would be part of.

No wonder young people are walking away from Christianity, they are
not as stupid as the people who continue to support this crap (BS).

Passing the basket during their Sunday Shows and telling their members
the many ways they can donate/give must really be working.

If you can't find a good paying job... start a church. There are hundreds
of Christian dominations... room for another I guess.

 

[KimT]

Right wingers aren't going to say Jesus was an immigrant or a refugee (which he was.). They ignore that so they can ignore the Biblical verses that tell us to welcome people from foreign lands. Most of the extreme right want us to build a wall, not welcome people fleeing from places to save their lives.

I agree that churches' money shouldn't be spend on selling Jesus. He sold himself.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Kim, what country did he immigrant from? Jesus willing went to where he knew he would
be executed. He knew what was coming as he told his apostles. He knew one would
betray him... after all he was the son of God. That million dollar TV personality said he was
immigrant or a refugee. And Jesus knew Peter would deny knowing him.

The Right Wingers ( and Trump just said in his last rally he would send every illegal
in this country back to Mexico.) He's the leader of these Right Wingers who are
against this very thing. He is almost their Jesus going off on how Trump is being
prosecuted like Jesus in the numerous cases against him. No one is above the law
except Trump to them. It's crazy.

Most wars throughout history were fought over religion. Millions have been murdered
over Christianity, the Crusades... were was Jesus for that? Did Jesus say kill those
who do not believe in me?

History has a propensity to repeat itself... beware of these Right wingers flushed with
money from the fools who are giving money to them. Maybe they think this will buy
their way into Heaven in the name of Jesus.

 

[Tomswife]

Refugee
by Malcolm Guite


We think of him as safe beneath the steeple,
Or cosy in a crib beside the font,
But he is with a million displaced people
On the long road of weariness and want.
For even as we sing our final carol
His family is up and on that road,
Fleeing the wrath of someone else’s quarrel,
Glancing behind and shouldering their load.
Whilst Herod rages still from his dark tower
Christ clings to Mary, fingers tightly curled,
The lambs are slaughtered by the men of power,
And death squads spread their curse across the world.
But every Herod dies, and comes alone
To stand before the Lamb upon the throne.
-KitJ

 

[wmilo]

Thanks, Tomswife, for this perspective. Scripture is clear that God desires that we help those in need, and I believe Jesus is among them.

Al, you are correct in your initial statements about Jesus (except I don't know what was said by the million dollar TV personality). Jesus was a Jew living in Israel. He grew up in Nazareth, about 65 miles from Jerusalem, and never traveled very far from there. He was not an immigrant.

The idea that "Most wars throughout history were fought over religion" is a common misconception. Wikipedia states, "According to the Encyclopedia of Wars, out of all 1,763 known/recorded historical conflicts, 121, or 6.87%, had religion as their primary cause." However, more than a million did die in just the Crusades.

I know you were speaking rhetorically by asking, "Did Jesus say kill those who do not believe in me?", but in case anyone might wonder: No, he did not. That would have been contrary to all his teaching.

I wonder if anyone really thinks they could buy their way into Heaven. Sadly, some may. Don't know whether to laugh or cry about that.

 

[KimT]

He had to flee his homeland as a baby. They went to Egypt. Later, as adult he was back. If you take scripture literally, After he fled he was only heard from once as a child of 12 answering questions in a temple. Then we don’t hear about him until he started his ministry.

 

[Clearwater AL]

In my religious upbringing I was taught Joseph, Jesus’s father, was
a carpenter. In those days carpenters and tradesmen would journey
to where work was available. Where the word ‘journeymen’ began
up to this day known in the trades. At the age of 12 Jesus went with
his family on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The distance from Bethlehem
to Jerusalem is about 20 miles. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, all in one
known territory at that time.

From the age of 12 to 30 there is little factual history of where
Jesus was. At the time he was crucified it appears only Mary and
Mary Magdalene was there. The whereabouts Joseph and James has
never been confirmed.

Generally it only says Jesus lived in Galilee (from 12 to 30) which is
150 miles from Jerusalem. Where he did miracles are not located on
a geographical map.

But Mary Magdalene traveled with Jesus and witnessed Jesus’s
being crucified with Mary. Hundreds of years later a Pope and his
spiritual counsel decided Mary Magdalene was a prostitute who
Jesus saved and Mary was a virgin. There is no proof Mary Magdalene
was a prostitute but the Immaculate Conception was a great story.
God forbid the son of God was born from Mary making love with
Joseph her husband. But James, his brother, being born was ok.

“But every Herod dies, and comes alone
To stand before the Lamb upon the throne”

I hope so… but I wonder if Herods reincarnate because there have
been hundreds of Herods since, up to Hitler and now Putin.

PS. Yes, maybe most wars were over territory, food sources and
materials but very few were against the same religion, Jews fighting
other Jews, Christians fighting Christians and etc. Whatever.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Kim are you saying Joseph, Mary and Jesus rode on a donkey 450 miles
from Bethlehem to Egypt then back? Just another Bible story for anyone
who wants to believe it word for word... regardless I guess.

 

[KimT]

I didn't say it. the Bible did.

 

[Clearwater AL]

If that's what the Bible says... God have mercy on the poor donkey/mule or how
many they went through round trip carrying all their belongings.

 

[Tomswife]

The profane is the opposite of the sacramental. ‘Profane’ means flat, empty, one-dimensional, exhausted. The market ideology wants us to believe that the world is profane–life consists of buying and selling, weighing, measuring and trading, and then finally sinking down into death and nothingness.
“But Jesus presents and entirely different kind of economy, one infused with the mystery of abundance and a cruciform kind of generosity. Five thousand are fed and 12 baskets of food are left over–one for every tribe of Israel. Jesus transforms the economy by blessing it and breaking it beyond self-interest. From broken Friday bread comes Sunday abundance. In this and in the following account of a miraculous feeding in Mark, people do not grasp, hoard, resent, or act selfishly; they watch as the juices of heaven multiply the bread of earth. Jesus reaffirms Genesis 1.
“When people forget that Jesus is the bread of the world, they start eating junk food–the food of the Pharisees and of Herod, the bread of moralism and of power. To often the church forgets the true bread and is tempted by junk food. Our faith is not just about spiritual matters; it is about the transformation of the world. The closer we stay to Jesus, the more we will bring a new economy of abundance to the world.”
Walter Brueggemann in “The Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity” from The Christian Century, March 24-31, 1999: 342-347. This whole article is worth reading.
We must cease following the market ideology of scarcity and, for our own good, stop eating junk food! Why? Our existence in God’s economy is abundant and there’s more than enough of the bread of life for everyone to go around (cf. John 6:35)!

 

[Clearwater AL]

A few things all should know about Wikipedia… Just this and back to Tomswife.

“Written collaboratively by largely anonymous volunteers, anyone with Internet access and in good standing can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles.”

“This page in a nutshell: No one "owns" content (including articles or any page at Wikipedia). If you create or edit an article, others can make changes, and you cannot prevent them from doing so. In addition, you should not undo their edits without good reason.”

“Anyone can post their data, or what they believe is accurate data on Wikipedia if it meets Wikipedia guide lines.”

So… sometimes what we may read on Wikipedia may not actually be truly
accurate or fact based. Gee… almost looks like Google.

Tomswife, your faith is admirable and I am glad for you. For me, years ago someone told me
Gods greatest gift to me was my brain... don't be afraid to use it to learn and question.

 

[Tomswife]

Clearwater...
I struggled with faith for many years. I questioned everything. Studied theologies. Read Scripture Old and New. Wanted faith, and had nothing but doubt. And then...the Lord gave my searching soul rest in Jesus. Something happened to me and it is still happening. It is well with my soul. I am still a seeker. But now I know whom I seek.

As far as corrupt churches go...dont confuse the vessel with the treasure. Jesus is the treasure. Jesus is the Pantocrator. The Almighty. The Judge.

 

[Clearwater AL]

I fail to understand. Sudan is one of the poorest countries of the world. Recently the Pope
made a trip there. Last year one million people there died from hunger and disease.
They say nearly one million people gathered to hear him. To me... apparently their
prayers aren't working. People can quote scripture, the bible but the problem still
goes unresolved. These people are Gods children but they seem forgotten.
This is just Sudan.

 

[Tomswife]

We live in the now and the not yet.
The kingdom of God is not fully realized.
A rabbi once said. Think of life on earth as a building with the scaffolding still in place.
Gods work has begun, but it is not finished.
Yes. There is terrible suffering.
Many believers accept the mystery of life that is joy and suffering. God allows the suffering, and is with us in our suffering.
We will never know the answer. Why. But through joy and suffering we come to know God.
In the book of Job. God does not explain why. God does teach Job that the "why" is beyond our comprehension.
I accept the mystery. Knowing God is with me and Tom.