Let's Not Forget All the Confederate Memorials

Sorry. Not to big on the Confederate soldier statue at the old county courthouse, now museum. Yankees all the way!

h/t Tim Wise

Monuments and Mosques: The debate over what’s sacred (an American Indian's perspective)

So the controversy – for the moment – is over the mosque slated to be built near the site of the World Trade Center bombings in New York City. Don’t you worry, though. We’ll get back to that ugly immigration debate momentarily.

Set at Liberty Those Who Are Oppressed

“ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
       Because He has anointed Me
      To preach the gospel to the poor;
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
      To proclaim liberty to the captives
      And recovery of sight to the blind,
      To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
       To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (Luke 4:18-20, New King James Version)

There's been a lot of smack talk about Black Liberation Theology. And I thought I'd help set the record straight. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite shares this pithy little number over at WashPo:

There was a lavish buffet, and a senior professor in theology, carrying a plate piled high with food from the buffet, came over to where Gutierrez and I were chatting, and he loomed over Gutierrez. "So," this senior professor intoned, "Professor Gutierrez, explain liberation theology to me." Gutierrez looked at him. "It's a matter of the stomach," Gutierrez replied. "The stomach?" the large and portly senior professor said, astonished. "Yes," said Gutierrez, looking at the professor's loaded plate. "You do theology differently when your stomach is full than when it is empty."

What?! Yes! Too true, too true!

Hush, Little White Church. Naw, for Real. Hush.

What really pissed me off in the previously referred to essay on Christian social justice was this line: If the church were awake when abortion was passed in the 70’s, it wouldn’t have happened. But the church was asleep” (Goodstein, “Disowning Conservative Politics”). Now granted, he was quoting someone else. And granted I think I may have heard the quote before. I just wanna pop go the weasel till the weasel go pop!

That's how I ended the last post, and I think I wanna go ahead and cap this off before moving on. Cause I've heard that sentiment before.

So lets be clear. The "American church" wasn't sleep before the 70s. The Black Church was busy fighting segregation, neo-slavery, and legal discrimination. The White Church was busy fighting to maintain their way of life.

Quit crying. No, not all white churches everywhere in the US, no.

But make no mistake about it. If the Southern White church had been living out the words of Christ and not the words of . . . oh I don't know, just pick a random slaveowner . . . Jefferson Davis, maybe? Things would not have gone down the way they did. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have the MLK Letters from a Birmingham Jail, but damn.

Now, I'm sorry I'm not going to spend much time proving that the White church wasn't sleep. Once you think about it, it's quite evident. But if not, let me know. Okay? Cause I got another point I wanna make.

Cause there's a reason white Christians, and maybe not even just the ones in the South, persist to insist on that myth. It's so they can pretend that the reason they suddenly stopped voting for Democrats just as blacks were allowed to vote isn't that they were/are racist. Naw. It was cause they were suddenly astounded to learn that women were having abortions. Or deeply disturbed that their children would no longer be led in prayer at the beginning of the school day.

Whatever.

Now you find yourselves protesting so that the wealthy won't have to pay more taxes or so that health insurance companies can continue with private death panels. I mean seriously. After a president who lied you into war and arrested and held Americans without cause and listened into phone calls, now, you're suddenly worried about your freedoms and liberty? Seriously? And it has nothing to do with race?

Please. Please. Please! Quit lying to yourselves. Do you really believe that after seeing fire hoses and police dogs being turned on fellow Americans; after the bombings of churches and homes; murders of little children . . . it was abortion that woke you up? Abortion that stirred you to action?

I think you're lying but my lord! I hope you're not. Naw, for real.

I Think I'm in Love!!

No, dear, not with you.

But in my recent meeting and chatting with new people, I discovered what I thought was an odd mix: skateboarding and Christ.

No! Nothing's wrong with that. It's just that I'm from a small, Black, rural town in the South. Not much skateboarding around here. And with the media portrayal of "skateboarding," I just never considered Jesus on a half-pipe.

So anyway, I am in love. I'm in love with the idea what Jesus on a half-pipe, doing a 460.

What my new chat friend told me about church he was familiar with is that they outreach to everybody. Drug addicts. Pimps. Hos (whores).

* political break*
3 announcements
1 - Most small business will not see a tax increase under Barack Obama's plan. And if you're a small business owner making over $250K, it's only American, or, rather, fair, that you "spread the wealth," and give someone the opportunity someone else gave you. And think heard about it, someone gave you the opportunity. You didn't get where you are on your own blood, sweat, or tears.
2 - The Supreme Court has decided with Ohio against the Republicans to maintain voter fairness.
3 - The Republican National Committee is taking responsibility for the anti-Obama robo-calls that spread lies on Obama.

Okay, but to my love. Oh, and take a moment to thank my aunt for talking me into watching politics so I can keep her informed while she works. See, she's a nurse. And at first, all the nurse were allowed to watch CNN, MSNBC, you know politics. But I think an actual fist fight broke out between Obama supporters and McCain supporters or at the very least, there was a loud argument and patients weren't receiving the care they're supposed to. So, my aunt's supervisor has now forbidden any conversation concerning politics.

Thanks, Auntie!

Okay, back to my love of Jesus and skateboarding, which is not to say I don't love my aunt. True, I'm watching MSNBC cause I'm a little afraid of her, but I love her, too. She's always looked out for me.

Now, for real, back to Jesus and skateboarding. What I love so much of the description my new chat friend shared with me. Like I said, the church group he's involved in and his friends, whose website Steelroots I just added to my side bar, reach out to everyone. The so-called, "real sinners." People who're coming off drug addictions and just recently getting out of jail. I love it because those are the people Jesus would've reached out to.

Jesus wouldn't shun the gay. He'd show them the same love he shows everyone else. He wouldn't shun women who are considering or who have already had abortions. He'd reach out to them. The decision to have an abortion is never easy, and it's not one women take lightly, contrary to conservative opinion. Either Jesus would be there for the woman to help care for the child or there assure her her sins are completely forgiven, and that he still longs for her and wants the best for her.

That's what the Gospel is about. The Gospel is supposed to be Good News. It's not supposed to be about deciding whose in and whose out. We, as Christians, are to be like the farmer in one of Jesus parables, we're supposed to spread the word everywhere, regardless of what we think may happen. I haven't gotten my MDiv yet, but I would even suggest it's up to Christians to help turn bad soil into good soil. You never know what's happened in someone's life that may have hardened their heart to the Gospel. But, as you show people the love of God, his unconditional, no strings attached love, maybe you can help turn some bad soil into some good soil.

And for those of you who just ain't trying to hear the Gospel. First, let me inform you the God is asexual. You could call God Mother just as much as most folks normally call God Father. Sometimes, I even pray to Mother God. So, there that. Elohim, one of the names for God, is plural female Hebrew.

And, God loves you regardless of how you feel about God. I know most of my posts aren't that "loving," but that's because justice is also what God's about. But have no doubt, there is a God, and no matter who you are or what you've done or are doing, S/He loves you. God thinks the world of you, that's why God came down to earth to die for all our mess ups and mishaps and worse, so that we could enjoy the relationship with God that we were created to have.

I Got Some Good News & Some Bad News & Some Personal Thoughts

First, the good news, mostly because I can make sense of it, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, which has been inundated with complaints and questions, will roll out a massive advertising campaign starting today and running until Election Day to inform voters of their rights and to try to dispel misinformation.

Here's the bad news, or at least questionable news about McCain. But, apparently McCain's transition chief lobbied for or had something to do with helping lobby for Saddam.

And here's a word for my white brothers and sisters in Christ. Previously, I was studying Proverbs. I'm presently studying Romans. Now, in my online explorations and chats, I've come across atheists and agnostics who care about the poor and choose peace over unnecessary war. I've come across Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists who feel that everyone and everything is an image of God.

Yesterday, or rather, last night, or . . . my last post, I displayed the youtube video of the preacher praying for a sort of "God-off" between our Christian God, Islam's God (because Arab Christians also pray to Allah), Buddha, and I suppose Krishna?

Now, the point I wish to make comes from Romans 2:17-24, and here it is: claiming to serve the "best" God or "the only true" God means nothing if you don't obey and follow the mandates of that God. Now, being Christian, while I believe that all religions have something true to offer, I also believe that Christ is the truth, the way, and the light. I'm not backing of that. I'm not obfuscating what I believe.

But also, I aim to be a force for justice and righteousness. In my personal life, I love God with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, and all my strength. At the time, I don't have a lot of physical strength, but I love God with all that I have. Also, I receive God's completely forgiveness and unconditional love with relief and gratitude. And here's the part that I find most miraculous. The more I open my heart to God's love and grace and mercy, the easier it becomes to love others the way I love myself. Cause essentially, I accept what God says about me as truth. In Ephesians, he says I'm his masterpiece! I'm not going to argue with God about that!

The more I give up trying to earn God's love, the easier it becomes to overlook other people's faults and try to meet their needs. For example, the so called "Islamofascists." They don't hate America. What they hate is their poverty. What they hate is not being able to provide from the families. And, well, whose domination of the world has led to the circumstances in which they live? . . . If you guess themselves, you're wrong. The correct answer is US, and I mean that as a double entendre.

So, I urge all my American brothers and sisters in Christ to emulate Christ, to imitate God their father as dear little children. Otherwise, and the Bible says so, you will be judged for causing unbelievers to blaspheme the name of our God. Oh, and please, you should probably stop taking his name in vain, as well. Just using God's name to do something ugly and hateful makes it no less, but in fact all the more, ugly and hateful. And if you're curious as to what I mean be ugly and hateful. Check back later. I've been meaning to write a post on abortion. Maybe now would be a good time to tackle such a topic. Because not even Biblically does life begin at conception.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

But of course, McCain's not kidding.

Here he is declining to condemn the comments of a GOP leader in Virginia who said Obama and bin Laden are the same because the both have friends who've bombed the Pentagon. Not even close to being the same or even factually accurate. He kinda ignores the question by accusing US Rep. John Lewis of equating him with the then racist and segregationist George Wallace. What Rep. Lewis said is that McCain, like Wallace, in fomenting an atmosphere of hate, one that's all the more dangerous due to the many assassinations that have occurred in the past. Rep. Lewis didn't say McCain is racist like Wallace was, he said they're doing the same thing. And they are. It's only recently that McCain made a small gesture towards tamping down the hate and surprise that an "uppity, smooth-talking, empty-suited, revenged-minded, nigger" might actually become president.

The fact that he either doesn't understand the different or is willing to ignore the difference doesn't speak well for him.




And this is worse.

Now, being a Christian myself, this sort of "God-off" isn't unfamiliar to me. There's a story in the Bible of the Prophet Elijah challenging prophets of Baal to a sort of God-off on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18:16-40.

But that's entirely different from what this guy is doing. First of all, Obama is a Christian. Second of all, lots of Christians, including myself, are praying that Barack win. And lastly, his not-so-covert implication that others praying to "Allah" want Obama to win for some nefarious reasons is racist, hateful, and ignorant.

Lord, I 'clare! These white Evangelicals and/or Fundamentalists are just giving the rest of us a bad name. All I should really say is, "Forgive them, Lord. They know not what they do. . . And while you're at, please let Barack Obama win. Abortions go down under Democratic administrations. More people prosper and less fall into poverty under Democratic administrations. And also, Lord, maybe supporting democratically elected regimes in other countries, and sending aid in the form of food and education instead of guns and weapons will help ease the hate against us. Maybe leaving Iraq will take away some of bin Laden's propaganda against us. Cause Lord, we know we fight not against flesh and blood, but against ideas and spiritual forces. This I pray in Jesus name, Amen."

And what I'll add, to you and not in prayer, is that McCain/Palin are lying about how we ended up in this mortgage crisis. I hope you read my previous post, "This Time, I'm Adding My View."

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I said I was going to avoid American politics. But all the lies coming from McCain/Palin are just repulsive.

Here I'm Is

Yeah, I don't mean that sentence literally. It's not acceptable in any form of English. It's just something I heard my little cousin say when she was 2-years old.

Again, today. Some stream of consciousness about the world around me.

Let me start by saying that Americans, especially those who lack the melanin content of others, need to get over ourselves. We're not God's gift to the world. Right at this very moment, while we claim to support democracy and are willing to occupy a country that posed no danger to us, we're undermining a democracy in South America. Quite possibly just because Evo Morales and his left-leaning government doesn't dance to our tune.

No, America. We're not the greatest place on earth. We're not the the Disney Land of the world. Get over it!

We claim to be a land of religious tolerance. Not true. Ask the Muslim in your neighborhood. There aren't any? Try your job. Still none? Find someone who looks Arab, promise you're not wired, and ask them their truest thoughts of America.

We claim to be a Christian nation. That's not true, either. Oh, I know how candidates for president have to profess a belief in Christ. I know how we treat the poor, the orphaned, the widowed, etc, etc, so on and so forth. All of which leads me to the conclusion that we got a bunch of people who're crying, "Lord, Lord!" and ain't nowhere near heaven.

We claim to be a racially tolerant nation. Well, I'm black so I know that's a load of crap. In fact, that's what the previously mentioned male friend added to my list of traits I want in a husband. He's anti-assimilation. Which is odd if you knew him. But, that's what I heard him say. And, well, I like that. I'm anti-assimilation, too. Yes, I can speak standard American English with the best of'em. I have my "white" voice. I can "act white" when necessary. But ultimately, I feel as though I'm being deceptive when I do those things. And I am indeed deceiving the audience of my "white" performance into accepting me for the person they would like me to be, and not the person I really am. I do that to get what I want. Studies have shown that the average person responds more positively to whiteness than blackness. So, I get what I want and go on with life.

I mean, take a look at the most liberal site you can find. Huffington Post. Alternet.org. Read the articles, then read the comments.

Which further proves my point that we're not a Christian nation. Over 30% of our citizens, in order to be successful, have to put on a performance. We 30% have to spend at least 8 hours of our day lying about who we really are. Um, yeah, any religious leader who spent more time with the so-called "sinners and tax-collecters" than he did high priests and scribes would not force others to be anything but who they are in order to be successful.

Now, granted, I'm kinda down right now. My football fantasy teams aren't performing as well as I had hoped. You'd think I'd be able to just shake that off, but no.

So, here I'm is with a few of my general complaints about America.

And when I mention our lack of religious tolerance, I'm including dogmatic atheists and agnostics as well. It bothers me that these intellectuals who understandably demand rational proof of God can't separate religious teachings from religious people and their most demonstrably religious actions. I once can across someone who was trying to make the barb that in Christianity, a man dies to receive 10 virgins while at least Islam gives him 72. The guy was referencing a parable, a story Jesus told to help explain how the Kingdom of God works. The fact that he couldn't tell the difference between a parable and actual promises led me to the conclusion that he's not the genius atheist he thinks he is.

Which brings me to another point. We claim to be a sexually tolerant nation. We're not. Whether or not your sexuality and sexual activity is accepted depends on your race, your gender, and the particular group you're in at the moment. We have a healthy margin of people who believe whole-heartedly in sexual purity - at least for females - and who decry the relatively high amount of sexual content on TV. As though they can't turn the channel. Then there're those who think waiting until you're married to have sex is a terrible idea. No, no one's actually explained to me why that is, but whoa! Just find yourself someone who's "sexually liberated" and find out just how uptight they are.

Yes. I'm a virgin. Oh, believe me. It's by choice. If at this moment right now, I decided to have sex, I could change my networking-site status and find at least 10 sexual partners available tonight. And another 10 who'd be willing to fly in or fly me out by tomorrow.

And, as promised, I suppose I should list some general complaints about the world at large.

Okay. Let me first start with America's international affairs. We went to war with the Taliban if Afganistan, illegally invaded Iraq, talking tough about Iran and Russia. Meanwhile, there's a genocide in the Darfur region of the country of Sudan on the continent of Africa and what have we done? At least 5 million people have died in the war(s) in Congo on the same continent and what have we done? . . . Oh, I should be clear. I mean, what have we done to promote peace? Cause the fact that we're selling weapons in these regions does count for doing something, just not something constructive. And before you fault "those people" as though we American are above such destructive actions, interview some Iraqis and also, some women in our military.

And as far as international affairs apart from America, Georgia needs to stop their illegal, genocidal actions in South Ossetia.

Okay. I gotta go now. But I'll be back. And I'm not promising a better mood.

SNCC: White Privilege and the Election (Corrected)

From: MALIK M. CHAKA
Subject: FW: white privilege and the election
Date: Sunday, September 14, 2008, 12:49 PM

Essay by Tim Wise

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are
constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list
will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and
everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal
matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every
family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar
"challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters
of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol
Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll
"kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun,
and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law
to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like
Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to
after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions
your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who
did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got
in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than
most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same
number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready
to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with
laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and
constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in
the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding
fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from
holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and
the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading
accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the
Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it),
is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people
immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist
political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto
was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family,
while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so
she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately
think she's being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work
they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for
civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think
you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a
small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a
class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with
you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway,
because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in
these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political
campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician
who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from
the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors
say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are
going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job
of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and
who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's
punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just
a good churchgoing Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black
pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense)
that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks
about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist
who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a
reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick
question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the
queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem
overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at
all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing
racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a "light" burden.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone
to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the
time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes,
inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion,
just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know,
it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same,
which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

God I Know, Paul I know, but Who Are You? II

In his book, Dusk of Dawn: And Essay Toward an Autobiography of a Race Concept, WEB Du Bois lists of "white American code of ethics" that follows something like this:

Christian: peace, good will, Golden Rule, liberty, poverty
Gentleman: justice, manners, exclusiveness, police, wealth
American: defense, caste, propaganda, patriotism, power
White Men: war, hate, suspicion, exploitation, empire

This list was published in 1940. Does that ring true to you even today?

Du Bois also attempts to recount innumerable conversations he's had with white American men into a single imaginary dialogue. They were discussing the contradictions between what it means to a Christian and what it means to be an American. A white friend explained, "We've go to be American even if we give up being Christians and Gentlemen."

And I think that's the problem with what's known as American Christianity today. It's not that white Christians, and I say white as opposed to black Christians, are picking and choosing which commandments to follow or which verses are literal and which are figurative. It's that they're choose between being Christian, being gentle(wo)men, being American, and being white. The problem is they choose which most benefits their sense of morality and self-acceptance.

For example. We all recall what Rev. Jeremiah Wright said about the US of "KKK-A." Was anything he said a lie? No. Was anything he said racist? No. So what was the hoopla about? The fact that he criticized the US. Even Michael Pfleger said nothing sexist or racist; he only pointed out the sense of entitlement white Americans seem to have. This entitlement never displays itself more than when white Americans are called out for it, as it displayed itself in the immediate and extreme punishment Pfleger received from his archbishop.

Let me share more of the Du Bois's conversation:

"Suppose we continue to neglect discipline for the mod and stop teaching thick and thin patriotism? I admit it isn't exactly honest business; America isn't so wonderful as nations go, but must we not make Americans believe it wonderful?"

So what's my point? First of all, it's to show that white Christianity is not Christianity at its purest. I've been in many an online argument about the "fiasco and deception" of Christianity. What bothers me most about these discussions is not the intellectual dismissal of Christianity. What bothers me is the intellectual dishonesty when discussing Christianity and history.

Let me just first say as a knowing descendant of slaves and a historian, the God the slaves worshipped and the God white people worshipped wasn't always the same God. For far too many white Americans at the time, god was just a heavenly body to whom you sacrifice your Sunday and did pretty whatever you wanted during the week. Now, this wasn't the God of abolitionists and temperance women and some suffragist; but, this was, and for some still is, the god of the majority of white American Christians. The troubling thing is that the Bible makes plain that God does not accept sacrifices and prayers from people who turn right around and disobey him.

On the other hand, the God of the slaves was personal. S/He was close by and a comforter, a strengthener, and encourager. That's why white Christians emphasis God's love, and black Christians emphasis liberty and deliverance. Even today, hardly a sermon goes by in a black church without the preacher encouraging the congregation that even if you're "going through," God is by your side and you can lean on Him/Her.

Historically, the problem is not and has never Christianity or most religions for that matter. The problem is that historically, European Christians have chosen war and exploitation, hate and empire over peace and justice, love and humility. I challenge anyone to name one horrific tragedy done in the name of "Christianity" that had nothing at all to do with the teachings of Christ. And if you can't see the difference, you're just as intellectually dishonest, bigoted, and close-minded as those you castigate. Just be honest with yourself. It's not that you don't believe in a Higher Being, you just don't wanna except a being Higher than yourself.

And I'm a black Christian. I don't recognize the god so many "Christian" conservatives talk about. How God would prize the "sanctity of life" over the ending of poverty, which is what leads so many woman to chose abortion, is beyond me. How their god seems to think the racial problems today originate from black grievances instead of white racism is beyond me. But, I suppose if the god you serve has blue eyes and long blond hair and pale skin, he may very well think that way. But I don't know that god.

But so anyway, here's the thing. Far too many American Christians, especially white ones, prioritize other codes of ethics over Christianity. And if you're a secularists who's tired of "Christian" conservatives making a mess of the Constitution, stop fighting them and work with those of us who follow Christ, not the most recent POTUS we like. Cause there're millions of us out there who are politically progressive, and we're willing not to evangelize you or expressing our ideas in religious terms. But you've got to stop trivializing our beliefs. Cause we won't stand for that either.

If you wanna confront those conservatives who call themselves Christians, denying the existence of God ain't gonna do. Telling them they're nut cases ain't gonna do it. But, maybe if you learned the 10 Commandments, you could challenge them for the support of a regressive tax system and an economy that distributes wealth upwards and leave the poor behind. And especially when it comes to same-sex marriage. Don't let them beat you up about the "sanctity" of marriage being between one man and one woman. Challenge the divorce rate that's 50% in and outside the church, challenge the fact that the rates spousal abuse are the same in and outside the church. And you should really hit them up with the fact that their seems to be more compassion, understanding, and equal sharing of domestic duties.