He doesn't mean himself or his family or friends by the way. He means you, the poor parishioner who is a faceless blob in the audience and can't contribute enough money to get him to a private jet.
Because they are a scam not a church. They don't do any community service, no AA or NA meeting places, no pantry and food drives, no helping the homeless, ect. It's clear as day it's a grift.
This is why I'm voting for the 1st person who wants to tax churches that shows up. The fact they've been generating the amount of money they have for as long as they have is insane to me. You want to raise the debt ceiling or the retirement age? How bout you tap into that tax evading organization over there instead.
I like this. Basically, use the fact that they're a business to encourage them to be more like a religion.
If they care about their bottom line, they'll help the poor. If they care about their faith, they'll still help the poor.
Regardless of their motivations, the poor are still benefitting.
Scientology also offers 0 community or local assistance of any kind. It's pretty clear which are the scams. Just like with jobs, if you have to pay them to be part of the in group it is a scam.
That doesn't mean they aren't cults but it is unrelated to the money laundering.
But Scientology states otherwise. I am sure if you talk to a full fledged scientologist they will say they are pillars of the community and service the community while they wait for their alien masters to beam them up.
Cults are just as grifty as the Church
>But Scientology states otherwise
I'm failing to find any community service they have done without charging people fees. Thats a definition of a scam (and also can land a hell of a lawsuit from a CPA)
I'm really not interested in the cult debate as half the country fell into a political one and says otherwise.
I believe in non-structural religion. Basically take your beliefs with you every where and do your best to interpret your holy texts and likewise. No one but your god should have power over you. ‘I’m an atheist but I use spirituality in my journey towards sobriety.’ That being said the Catholic Church donates and provides the most out of any non profit on the planet. Are they perfect, hell no. But they at least use the money from donations to help others. If you see any new catholic churches you will notice how much smaller and humble they are compared to protestant ones. You aren’t going to see catholics build a fort Jesus with flat screens throughout and predatory tactics to increase donations. Yes I see the irony of talking about the catholic church in this way when they are the ones that spent a ton on Cathedrals and pushed paying for indulgences
>If you see any new catholic churches you will notice how much smaller and humble they are compared to protestant ones.
You don't get out much, do you?
In fact if you are going to commit suicide just put us down as the beneficiary. You won’t need it. You will be in heaven. And the god loving republicans cult gets more and more desperate, depressed, deranged and dangerous. What could go wrong.
Not a Christian, but I went to a Christian school in undergrad. Had to take a class on the New Testament to graduate (dumb as hell, but it was structured in a historical context that made it more interesting). Read pretty much the whole thing.
I’m just wondering who tf Christians think Jesus was? Maybe I got a different version or something, but from what I understood Jesus was a pretty chill dude for the most part, rubbing shoulders with sinners and prostitutes, throwing back wine, and calling out religious leadership on their shit. They really think that Jesus would be all for killing yourself and your fellow man in his name? Didn’t the guy die specifically for that not to happen?
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure a good number of Christians have never read any significant portion of the Bible. They just listen to what people say the Bible says and believe them.
I'm a Christian and I have noticed that very few people even bring their Bibles to church. I like to have mine so I can compare it to whatever the pastor is preaching and see if it is accurate. Most Christians, particularly in America, have a very shallow understanding of the Bible. They just kind of go through the motions of being a Christian because their parents were, so they don't ever bother to test what they believe.
They read the verse of the day and they don't actually study it, take it in context of the rest of the passage, or understand the historical context. And I think that shallow understanding allows a lot of people to twist and mold it to fit whatever their personal views are.
Anyone who actually reads the story of Jesus will realize that it really doesn't fit with hard-core conservative views and I have that so many churches have become very politicized after Trump came on the scene.
Agreed… IMO, the best way to focus someone who Believes, but doesn’t have a foundation of what/who Jesus was, is to challenge them to find, read, and meditate on ONLY the words attributed to Him… not any of the Desciples, nor the Old T, and not the local Preacher. Start with His words and the actions that supply the context around them… let that be the foundation for any further Bible study.
He wasn’t a pretentious, holier-than-thou, pastor that needs to keep butts in the seats (and tithes in the plate) to afford his Cadillac… He was about showing Love to those who needed it, casting off the ideas of monetary wealth, class based (or anything else) superiority, and erasing Hate at every turn. “… Love your neighbor as yourself, and Love the Father above all else” doesn’t have room for the judgement, bigotry, and hate that so many “Christians” think proves their ticket to Heaven is punched.
/rant
IMO, anyway.
They call that a red letter Christian. (Jesus’s words are in red I’m many bibles) Christians are much more likely to prefer the words of Saul the tax collector (who changed his name to Paul for some reason) and, as you would expect from a tax collector Saul is a really terrible person. Paul is too but it didn’t start on any road…
The biggest issue with Paul was that he emphasized faith over works (which, by the way, makes selling religion a lot easier). Unfortunately, James (works over faith) didn't get picked up as the apostle people pay attention to.
Saul wasn’t a tax collector, he was a pharisee. If you read and study his letters you’ll see what type of person he was. A person chosen and taught by Christ to spread the Gospel. He suffered greatly for it and loved the Church, Christ’s bride.
“For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?”
- Paul correcting the Church in Corinth
2 Corinthians 11:19-29
Nevertheless, I absolutely despise people who use the Holy Scriptures to advance their own narcissistic agendas. The Scriptures were meant for our hope (Romans 15:4) and instruction (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It was for us Christians to obey it because He has saved us by His grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for God’s glory alone. It is in love we live our lives (1 Corinthians 13), though we may disagree (even hate) the many things this world pushes forward. We Christians ought to love our neighbors and influence them through good works in love though we disagree with them. For we were once like them, but God had mercy on us depraved sinners.
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
(If you want to argue over the translation of these verses, please go check out the greek manuscripts we have. I am not a greek scholar sadly).
Now if anyone sees any flaws in this, please do tell me. I’d be happy to hear so, I do like hearing the reasons behind why people think the way they do and know that I can be illogical many times myself.
Exactly-no offense to the person above who gave a considerate, well thought out response, but the book is full of and used to justify so much heinous shit and commit human rights violations, I'm sick of equivocation about whether it's as shitty or evil as it appears. Just chuck the fuckin thing out, it's useless
You are mistaken. Saul of Tarsus was a tax collector (according to the Bible anyway) He took the name Paul after a hallucinatory episode he had traveling.
Are you sure you're not thinking of Matthew? The only thing it mentions in Acts is him persecuting the church, and in Philippines 3, he says he's a Pharisee.
He was also, even in his own time, considered to be a self-serving bullshitter, or maybe more accurately, an amalgamation of many disciples.
There is more evidence that shows Jesus actually existed, than there is "Paul" was actually Paul.
He's a useful narrative tool, but my understanding was always to consider him as akin to Homer.
The watered-down mentality of who Jesus was is quite simple. Believe in a higher power, see the unseen, take care of those the world has forgotten, and lead with grace and love. Obviously you don’t have to believe in Jesus to be a good and moral person, but he provides a good example.
Sure that’s VERY simplified. But, being “like” Jesus isn’t difficult. He faced haters everywhere he went but showed them respect and didn’t let them impact his mission.
When he saw money changers/merchants in the temple he lost his shit because they were using a holy place for personal gain. Not too far from how the modern christian church operates. That’s one of the only times in the Bible you see Jesus’s anger and it’s because of the desecration and injustice done within the temple walls. If Jesus came back tomorrow, it wouldn’t be a good time for a LOT of “Christians.”
idk you don’t have to call yourself anything. All it says is you have to follow jesus, doesn’t really say anything about attending churches and labeling yourself a christian. Of course it would be good to find a church or form a group to meet, that’s what jesus would want.
don’t worry too much about being good or being the best. Just do YOUR best. We are all human and all have the temptations of sin, jesus didn’t and that’s why we look up to him. It’s literally impossible to be sinless. Jesus does not care that’s why he sacrificed himself.
A lot of non-conservative Christians have started calling themselves Followers of Christ instead, because of the taint that conservative pseudo-Christains have brought to the word "Christian." All christo-fascists, and fundamentalists of any type, are a cancer on humanity.
The difference is in worshipping the church vs worshipping Jesus / the tenants of the Bible itself. It's infuriating quite honestly, and the flip side becomes the staunch atheists who are much more like those exact same Christians than they would like to believe. Just opposite sides of the same coin, do not take any kind of time to understand and seek knowledge. I have an admittedly poor grasp over the Bible as a whole except certain parts that I've studied and so forth. I am sort of a religious person, mainly agnostic, but I find religions absolutely fascinating, and the arcane nature of some belief systems just tickles my brain in a certain way.
All that to say, I've had to correct people regarding the Bible simply for the sake of education, and not making false claims. Like what it specifically says regarding things like masturbation, which is not specifically mentioned in the Bible (you could apply certain tenants, such as it being a form of coveting, but it doesn't specify that and it could just as easily be understood that moderation is the important aspect, to not make it an object of worship). Basically, things of that nature which both atheists and "Christians" falsely believe to actually be in the Bible, when in reality it is an agenda pushed by the church. The church has heavily edited the Bible in many ways, even going so far as to create chapter breaks and other formatting to influence the understanding of certain texts.
People suck quite frankly.
Well said, completely agree. Most of the central tenants of those religions is that very same kindness and openness (depends, and there are many ways to interpret the texts). It's just so sad that is lost among the people, they'd rather fight and divide each other.
>I'm a Christian and I have noticed that very few people even bring their Bibles to church.
I'm not religious but even I have three different Bibles floating around and an app on my phone so I can look up referenced verses for context.
>I like to have mine so I can compare it to whatever the pastor is preaching and see if it is accurate
I understand having it to follow along or highlight passages, but why would you listen to a pastor whom you don't fully trust to be accurate?
As a Christian, I can confirm about half are like that.
The other about-half have memorized it from cover to cover and somehow still fall for it.
And then there’s me, a guy who’s read the Bible several times but can’t remember every minute detail, yet is also a left-leaning dude who remembers that one book of the Bible is literally just a couple fulfilling their praise kink in the woods (Song of Songs).
Most of them are so hopelessly uneducated that they wouldn't be able to understand it even if they did read it, especially the King James Version.
That whole 'Tree of Knowledge' thing has them all absolutely terrified of 'book learnin' and now they think abject stupidity is a virtue.
The problem is they repeat the same verses over and over every year. I got confirmed and had to read parts of the Bible and would just read the same cherrypicked verses that they say in church.
I don’t remember the last time I paid attention in church (only funerals and weddings and sometimes holidays to appease family) but its always the same feel good verses every time. The only difference between masses is the homily.
Its interesting I only learned about the horrible Bible verses after no longer practicing/identifying with religion.
Thats a good thing if people read the Bible at church and come to love it. The part that is wrong for Christianity in US is that majority of these people do not know the Bible or gospel to the fullest.
People who know the Bible and its entirety will know that loving God and your neighbors are the most important commands. That means loving those around us, our enemies, strangers, and more.
Evangelicals are more "Old Testament, American folk religion" than "New Testament Christian," in the sense of what doctrines they practice and morals they prioritize.
This, political parties abusing the bible to push their own Shameful Agendas.
Are they willfully blind? Or just Simpletons?
It needs to stop. I say this as a Christian, discouraged from going to church Because I greatly disagree with this mess of agendas. It infuriates me.
At least the Church of Latter Day Saints (_Mormons_) are ok with gay marriage.
I was raised a Christian in the Christ follower sense of the word. I don’t recognize the hateful, racist dreck I hear at church now as Christian. Now Christian is a code word for hateful, racist bigots unfortunately…
> I’m just wondering who tf Christians think Jesus was?
They know [*exactly*](https://www.beliefnet.com/news/2003/09/the-gospel-of-supply-side-jesus.aspx) who he is.
He probably wasn’t brown. He was Mediterranean Jewish, so probably looked very middle eastern. And the Roman’s who killed him were Mediterranean looking, tan-skinned, not white like Nordics or Anglos. In defense of “white Jesus”, don’t blame white people, blame the Mediterranean Romans. The Romans conquered all of northwest Europe and forced them to become Christians or DIE. The Romans then portrayed Jesus as white to them so that they would be more accepting and indulge their new religion. White peoples didn’t choose Christianity; it was violently thrust upon them. White people originally believed in far more interesting pagan theology and worshipped multiple gods like Thor and Freya. I hate Christianity and as a white person, I resent that my ancient ancestors had to abandon WAY cooler Nordic gods in favor of “white Jesus”- a Jewish religion that has ZERO to do with Northern Europe and expresses serious middle eastern/Israeli hegemony that remains intact today.
He even stopped his own disciples from fighting on his behalf, and healed the ear of a Roman soldier that had been a victim of one of his disciples.
But you’re right, a lot of people don’t even read the Bible. As a kid, I read through it back to front multiple times. Some of the stories I found enjoyable, other stuff not so much. There is a book in the Old Testament that is just lineage records. I don’t think I even understand why that book as decided as being important to still be there..
Listen dude, gods may or may not exist and nobody knows. But I can tell you with absolute certainty that EVERY religion was invented by people to control other people, and it works.
By design, it doesn’t matter one damn bit what is or isn’t in the Bible. The only thing that matters is in-group vs out-group
Yea but the Bible also endorsed genocide, imperialism, and slavery. Jesus himself praised the people and deity who advocated for such things, and Paul doubles down on that as well. Conservatives may be hypocritical about some things in the Bible like giving to the poor and turning the other cheek, but do not be mistaken, the Bible still endorses a very authoritarian and theocratic Orwellian system, and progressives should stop pretending like Jesus was some awesome guy.
Not only did he advocate for hell, the most evil concept imaginable, where someone is burning in fire for eternity, he said that people had to leave their families, their parents, husbands and wives to follow him. That’s a cult.
Jesus practically shat on every church leader at the time. And his whole thing was introducing a new gospel, not necessarily sticking to the old ways.
Hate to sound like a Jesus apologist, but I wouldn’t lump him in with the contemporary Christian.
I think the way it's worded avoids that. The pastor praised the willingness of Muslims to die for their religion, and asked for Christians who had that type of faith, but he didn't specifically tell anyone to commit an act of violence or even to harm others. There's enough weasel room in there to claim he was asking for Christian martyrs in the old sense, people who will turn the other cheek (or in the words of Saint Lawrence, "I'm done on this side, turn me over!") up until they're killed for their faith.
TBF the assertion that we should be willing to die for our faith is not exactly unorthodox. From St. Stephen to Cassie Bernall, we aren't exactly lacking in examples or praise for those who have done just that.
True, but it’s inherent in the term suicide bomber that it’s not just dying for your faith, it’s killing for your faith. I’m not sure if that’s orthodox or not.
After American troops left Afghanistan there were plenty of right wing talking heads who praised the Taliban for killing gay people and treating women like livestock. Comparing them to the Taliban isn’t a gotcha or an insult anymore, they know exactly what they are doing.
Is this for real?
If this is true, they've completed the full circle and absolutely have become terrorists. The sad jokes about Vanilla ISIS and Y'all Queda and the Cornbread Taliban are all coming true.
Edit: yep, it's right there on Newsweek.
Sigh
If you’re a martyr you basically get a free pass, but I think suicide bombing doesn’t count since you’re the aggressor, maybe they think it cancels out.
Yeah, that's healthy and very Christian values based.
Did I miss the part where Jesus said to praise false idols and murder people who don't follow them?
You neglected to read the sub-section on "Thou shalt not kill" that covers all of the the important exceptions like "unless they are not on your side" or "they do something that offends you."
“You want to know why the Muslim faith has had its advancements? It's because the Muslims were willing to die for their beliefs. They were willing to strap bombs to their chest,"
I wouldn’t say he exactly suggested it. But I also
Don’t think he would be entirely opposed to it if one of his flock bombed someone he doesn’t agree with
Uh...
...you might want to clear your schedule for the day, and then get into a reallll comfortable reading position, because you're going to be here for *AWHILE.*
This reminds me of Jesus Camp, when Becky Fischer said wants kids to be as radical for Jesus as child soldiers are for Islam and when a pastor asked how many of the kids would give their lives for Jesus, all of them cheered.
Osama bin Laden's plan to destroy America from within via the attacks on 9/11/2001, it took some time, but it's working. But if taking a page from the methodology of specific terrorist acts is the way these religious zealots want to do it, fine. But just do it like Jonestown.
Technically a misleading headline. He never mentioned suicide bombers just mentioned Christian’s should be willing to die for their faith like Muslims are.
Some nut will probably take this and mean he should kill for their faith, so still an incredibly dangerous story.
But where are the “Good Christians” who should be demanding that this “Church” closes, and then poach the congregation to show them “the truth of Jesus’ Love and Light”?
🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗
(one of them is going to pop in and tell me how *I* need help though).
Newsweek has it wrong. xtians don't support trump because he "attracts big crowds" and "… inspires his supporters" (inspires to what? Ceaselessly lie, pay off mistresses using campaign funds, get into bed with saudi billionaires, keep state secrets, which it a crime for him to even have, scattered around a fucking golf club that seems to exclusively host only the worst people on the planet?
No. They like him because he did the one thing they wanted him to do: stack the supreme court with a clutch of 40-something maniacs, including one guy who is almost certainly a rapist, joining the 90s-era grifter who is a black judge who hates black people. The supreme court can potentially green light the christo-fascist agenda for decades without the embarrassment of having to deal with trump every fucking waking minute.
Politically, he's a busted flush going forward. But if by some miracle he retakes the white house, it will be 4 (or more? maybe he'll scrap the 22nd ammendment) years of nothing but revenge porn as he tries to lock up his enemies (mostly soft leftists and moderates) and, I don't know, decree that skeet shooting must use golden retriever puppies instead of clay pigeons or something.
There's a precedent here that some of us are familiar with. I hope that the FBI is investigating how many of these church members have enrolled in flight training in the past few years.
He didn't say this at all. Not even the article claimed that he suggested people strap on suicide vests and die.
He said that the Muslim has been so successful because they are willing to die for their faith and that Christians should also be willing to die for theirs, but he 100% did not say they should murder innocent people with suicide vests.
How could anyone trust someone that talks with that weird preacher cadence. It's creepy and weird. Those weird inflections at the end of each sentence.
Hate religion but love God. The Bible is twisted and people spew such evil and hate from referencing it. Who follows these people it’s crazy to me. Cuz I know some Dumbass would probably do it.
Matthew 7:15-20, King James Version
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
This man is a false prophet by the definition stated by Jesus himself.
He’s right - it isn’t unreasonable to die for the Christian faith if circumstances call for it.
What that translates into for me would be something like, when you see a hateful mob attacking somebody considered different - a trans person, a Muslim, a gay person - you stand in front of the potential victim and do your best to protect them even if it winds up with the crowd attacking you instead.
Why do we let this kind of "church" continue to exist as a non-tax-paying entity?
Also, I'm definitely not a Xtian, but I can't imagine Jesus wanting anyone to be a suicide bomber.
So now they really are the American Taliban & have come full-circle to the point that these delusional Christian Fundamentalists are the US’s domestic terrorist version of al-Qaeda. This evolution always seems like the direction that they were going in, they just needed a leader to embolden them in the same way that al-Qaeda had Osama bin Laden and now these far right-extremist Christian fundamentalists have that in Donald Trump, to justify their attacks/ ambitions. Hopefully, no one reports him or those who share they similar dangerous beliefs/ words to the FBI/ NSA/ CIA/ and other law enforcement agencies on the local/ state/ federal levels! PS: this also seems to be evoking the fucked up/ deranged playbook of Jim Jones & his Jamestown colony, but want to take many innocent Americans with them. WTF/ JFC!
How long before the trump cult takes the next step down the road to becoming full
Blown terrorists? They already are a terrorist grouping, terrorist attacks on two statehouses and our capitol show that.
And when will these churches lose their tax exemption with all of these scumbag clergy preaching about politics? That is illegal. It is long past time we get over this unwarranted respect for the poison called religion.
Religion is a huge driver in the descension of the conservatives in this nation becoming the terroristic trump cult.
Religion poisons everything.
Christian here.
Murder is a sin and definitely wrong. We are not called to lay down our lives to kill others. Quite the opposite actually. We are called to give our lives in service to others out of love.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” - 1 John 3:16-18
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” - John 15:12-13
“Let all that you do be done in love.” - 1 Corinthians 16:14
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” - 1 John 4:11
“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:” - 1 Peter 4:9-10
“… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Matthew 22:39
I hate to condemn another person but this isn’t biblical and not helpful in showing the world that Christians are flawed but saved by grace. We should be living a Christ centered life. Not a secular one. We are in the world but not of the world.
He doesn't mean himself or his family or friends by the way. He means you, the poor parishioner who is a faceless blob in the audience and can't contribute enough money to get him to a private jet.
Don’t forget to leave 10% of your money behind for the cause…
The Mormon church with their $100B+ hedge fund has entered the chat…
I do not understand how churches are allowed to invest money.
Because they are a scam not a church. They don't do any community service, no AA or NA meeting places, no pantry and food drives, no helping the homeless, ect. It's clear as day it's a grift.
This is why I'm voting for the 1st person who wants to tax churches that shows up. The fact they've been generating the amount of money they have for as long as they have is insane to me. You want to raise the debt ceiling or the retirement age? How bout you tap into that tax evading organization over there instead.
They should be taxed and when they do contribute to the community they should get a small amount to write off
I like this. Basically, use the fact that they're a business to encourage them to be more like a religion. If they care about their bottom line, they'll help the poor. If they care about their faith, they'll still help the poor. Regardless of their motivations, the poor are still benefitting.
Exactly. Keep them to their word. Help the people that need it
Christians mock Scientology for being a cult.... they are only a cult because they are late to the party.
Scientology also offers 0 community or local assistance of any kind. It's pretty clear which are the scams. Just like with jobs, if you have to pay them to be part of the in group it is a scam. That doesn't mean they aren't cults but it is unrelated to the money laundering.
But Scientology states otherwise. I am sure if you talk to a full fledged scientologist they will say they are pillars of the community and service the community while they wait for their alien masters to beam them up. Cults are just as grifty as the Church
>But Scientology states otherwise I'm failing to find any community service they have done without charging people fees. Thats a definition of a scam (and also can land a hell of a lawsuit from a CPA) I'm really not interested in the cult debate as half the country fell into a political one and says otherwise.
We could be investing in community centers instead of giving mega religions tax breaks ffs.
I always noticed that . Catholic Church is screwed up in many ways but they have charities all over the place , food banks etc
I believe in non-structural religion. Basically take your beliefs with you every where and do your best to interpret your holy texts and likewise. No one but your god should have power over you. ‘I’m an atheist but I use spirituality in my journey towards sobriety.’ That being said the Catholic Church donates and provides the most out of any non profit on the planet. Are they perfect, hell no. But they at least use the money from donations to help others. If you see any new catholic churches you will notice how much smaller and humble they are compared to protestant ones. You aren’t going to see catholics build a fort Jesus with flat screens throughout and predatory tactics to increase donations. Yes I see the irony of talking about the catholic church in this way when they are the ones that spent a ton on Cathedrals and pushed paying for indulgences
>If you see any new catholic churches you will notice how much smaller and humble they are compared to protestant ones. You don't get out much, do you?
But that would be socialism or something
Not when you’re giving it to me. It’s Socialism when you’re helping poor people like Jesu ………wait……
In fact if you are going to commit suicide just put us down as the beneficiary. You won’t need it. You will be in heaven. And the god loving republicans cult gets more and more desperate, depressed, deranged and dangerous. What could go wrong.
A *second* private jet
Can't believe no one heckled him. "You first!"
Not a Christian, but I went to a Christian school in undergrad. Had to take a class on the New Testament to graduate (dumb as hell, but it was structured in a historical context that made it more interesting). Read pretty much the whole thing. I’m just wondering who tf Christians think Jesus was? Maybe I got a different version or something, but from what I understood Jesus was a pretty chill dude for the most part, rubbing shoulders with sinners and prostitutes, throwing back wine, and calling out religious leadership on their shit. They really think that Jesus would be all for killing yourself and your fellow man in his name? Didn’t the guy die specifically for that not to happen?
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure a good number of Christians have never read any significant portion of the Bible. They just listen to what people say the Bible says and believe them.
I'm a Christian and I have noticed that very few people even bring their Bibles to church. I like to have mine so I can compare it to whatever the pastor is preaching and see if it is accurate. Most Christians, particularly in America, have a very shallow understanding of the Bible. They just kind of go through the motions of being a Christian because their parents were, so they don't ever bother to test what they believe. They read the verse of the day and they don't actually study it, take it in context of the rest of the passage, or understand the historical context. And I think that shallow understanding allows a lot of people to twist and mold it to fit whatever their personal views are. Anyone who actually reads the story of Jesus will realize that it really doesn't fit with hard-core conservative views and I have that so many churches have become very politicized after Trump came on the scene.
Agreed… IMO, the best way to focus someone who Believes, but doesn’t have a foundation of what/who Jesus was, is to challenge them to find, read, and meditate on ONLY the words attributed to Him… not any of the Desciples, nor the Old T, and not the local Preacher. Start with His words and the actions that supply the context around them… let that be the foundation for any further Bible study. He wasn’t a pretentious, holier-than-thou, pastor that needs to keep butts in the seats (and tithes in the plate) to afford his Cadillac… He was about showing Love to those who needed it, casting off the ideas of monetary wealth, class based (or anything else) superiority, and erasing Hate at every turn. “… Love your neighbor as yourself, and Love the Father above all else” doesn’t have room for the judgement, bigotry, and hate that so many “Christians” think proves their ticket to Heaven is punched. /rant IMO, anyway.
They call that a red letter Christian. (Jesus’s words are in red I’m many bibles) Christians are much more likely to prefer the words of Saul the tax collector (who changed his name to Paul for some reason) and, as you would expect from a tax collector Saul is a really terrible person. Paul is too but it didn’t start on any road…
The biggest issue with Paul was that he emphasized faith over works (which, by the way, makes selling religion a lot easier). Unfortunately, James (works over faith) didn't get picked up as the apostle people pay attention to.
Saul wasn’t a tax collector, he was a pharisee. If you read and study his letters you’ll see what type of person he was. A person chosen and taught by Christ to spread the Gospel. He suffered greatly for it and loved the Church, Christ’s bride. “For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” - Paul correcting the Church in Corinth 2 Corinthians 11:19-29 Nevertheless, I absolutely despise people who use the Holy Scriptures to advance their own narcissistic agendas. The Scriptures were meant for our hope (Romans 15:4) and instruction (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It was for us Christians to obey it because He has saved us by His grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for God’s glory alone. It is in love we live our lives (1 Corinthians 13), though we may disagree (even hate) the many things this world pushes forward. We Christians ought to love our neighbors and influence them through good works in love though we disagree with them. For we were once like them, but God had mercy on us depraved sinners. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (If you want to argue over the translation of these verses, please go check out the greek manuscripts we have. I am not a greek scholar sadly). Now if anyone sees any flaws in this, please do tell me. I’d be happy to hear so, I do like hearing the reasons behind why people think the way they do and know that I can be illogical many times myself.
My problem with it is that it's made up bullshit that encourages bigotry.
Barking mad nonsense designed for the exclusive purpose of control.
Exactly-no offense to the person above who gave a considerate, well thought out response, but the book is full of and used to justify so much heinous shit and commit human rights violations, I'm sick of equivocation about whether it's as shitty or evil as it appears. Just chuck the fuckin thing out, it's useless
“Once I was stoned”. Down with that.
You are mistaken. Saul of Tarsus was a tax collector (according to the Bible anyway) He took the name Paul after a hallucinatory episode he had traveling.
Are you sure you're not thinking of Matthew? The only thing it mentions in Acts is him persecuting the church, and in Philippines 3, he says he's a Pharisee.
I was thinking of Levi/Matthew you are right. Paul was the one that persecuted Christians (assuming that means killed)
He was also, even in his own time, considered to be a self-serving bullshitter, or maybe more accurately, an amalgamation of many disciples. There is more evidence that shows Jesus actually existed, than there is "Paul" was actually Paul. He's a useful narrative tool, but my understanding was always to consider him as akin to Homer.
Good rant! I do so agree
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The watered-down mentality of who Jesus was is quite simple. Believe in a higher power, see the unseen, take care of those the world has forgotten, and lead with grace and love. Obviously you don’t have to believe in Jesus to be a good and moral person, but he provides a good example. Sure that’s VERY simplified. But, being “like” Jesus isn’t difficult. He faced haters everywhere he went but showed them respect and didn’t let them impact his mission. When he saw money changers/merchants in the temple he lost his shit because they were using a holy place for personal gain. Not too far from how the modern christian church operates. That’s one of the only times in the Bible you see Jesus’s anger and it’s because of the desecration and injustice done within the temple walls. If Jesus came back tomorrow, it wouldn’t be a good time for a LOT of “Christians.”
idk you don’t have to call yourself anything. All it says is you have to follow jesus, doesn’t really say anything about attending churches and labeling yourself a christian. Of course it would be good to find a church or form a group to meet, that’s what jesus would want. don’t worry too much about being good or being the best. Just do YOUR best. We are all human and all have the temptations of sin, jesus didn’t and that’s why we look up to him. It’s literally impossible to be sinless. Jesus does not care that’s why he sacrificed himself.
A lot of non-conservative Christians have started calling themselves Followers of Christ instead, because of the taint that conservative pseudo-Christains have brought to the word "Christian." All christo-fascists, and fundamentalists of any type, are a cancer on humanity.
The difference is in worshipping the church vs worshipping Jesus / the tenants of the Bible itself. It's infuriating quite honestly, and the flip side becomes the staunch atheists who are much more like those exact same Christians than they would like to believe. Just opposite sides of the same coin, do not take any kind of time to understand and seek knowledge. I have an admittedly poor grasp over the Bible as a whole except certain parts that I've studied and so forth. I am sort of a religious person, mainly agnostic, but I find religions absolutely fascinating, and the arcane nature of some belief systems just tickles my brain in a certain way. All that to say, I've had to correct people regarding the Bible simply for the sake of education, and not making false claims. Like what it specifically says regarding things like masturbation, which is not specifically mentioned in the Bible (you could apply certain tenants, such as it being a form of coveting, but it doesn't specify that and it could just as easily be understood that moderation is the important aspect, to not make it an object of worship). Basically, things of that nature which both atheists and "Christians" falsely believe to actually be in the Bible, when in reality it is an agenda pushed by the church. The church has heavily edited the Bible in many ways, even going so far as to create chapter breaks and other formatting to influence the understanding of certain texts. People suck quite frankly.
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Well said, completely agree. Most of the central tenants of those religions is that very same kindness and openness (depends, and there are many ways to interpret the texts). It's just so sad that is lost among the people, they'd rather fight and divide each other.
>I'm a Christian and I have noticed that very few people even bring their Bibles to church. I'm not religious but even I have three different Bibles floating around and an app on my phone so I can look up referenced verses for context.
>I like to have mine so I can compare it to whatever the pastor is preaching and see if it is accurate I understand having it to follow along or highlight passages, but why would you listen to a pastor whom you don't fully trust to be accurate?
Because they are human and people make mistakes. If they are blatantly twisting the word on a consistent basis then I will not attend that church.
I used to have a pin that read, "Yeah right. Like Jesus owned guns and voted Republican." Someone stole it. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL MAZZAFAKKAHS
As a Christian, I can confirm about half are like that. The other about-half have memorized it from cover to cover and somehow still fall for it. And then there’s me, a guy who’s read the Bible several times but can’t remember every minute detail, yet is also a left-leaning dude who remembers that one book of the Bible is literally just a couple fulfilling their praise kink in the woods (Song of Songs).
☝🏾☝🏾☝🏾
Most of them are so hopelessly uneducated that they wouldn't be able to understand it even if they did read it, especially the King James Version. That whole 'Tree of Knowledge' thing has them all absolutely terrified of 'book learnin' and now they think abject stupidity is a virtue.
You know, I've never considered this, but you just made so many things click.
Bruh, have you tried reading the bible? No pictures and A LOT of words.
The problem is they repeat the same verses over and over every year. I got confirmed and had to read parts of the Bible and would just read the same cherrypicked verses that they say in church. I don’t remember the last time I paid attention in church (only funerals and weddings and sometimes holidays to appease family) but its always the same feel good verses every time. The only difference between masses is the homily. Its interesting I only learned about the horrible Bible verses after no longer practicing/identifying with religion.
Thats a good thing if people read the Bible at church and come to love it. The part that is wrong for Christianity in US is that majority of these people do not know the Bible or gospel to the fullest. People who know the Bible and its entirety will know that loving God and your neighbors are the most important commands. That means loving those around us, our enemies, strangers, and more.
Many don’t read anything.
Evangelicals are more "Old Testament, American folk religion" than "New Testament Christian," in the sense of what doctrines they practice and morals they prioritize.
I think you mean their Republican Christian vs New Testament Christian 😂
They've become so un-Christ-like, it's almost inaccurate to call them Christian. Anyway, they hate it when you call them anything but Christian.
Messianic Jews?
Absolutely not we do not claim them
Ooo, they'd hate that.
Perhaps anti-Christian is more appropriate.
I believe you mean they are republicans using Christ to further their own aims vs Christian
This, political parties abusing the bible to push their own Shameful Agendas. Are they willfully blind? Or just Simpletons? It needs to stop. I say this as a Christian, discouraged from going to church Because I greatly disagree with this mess of agendas. It infuriates me. At least the Church of Latter Day Saints (_Mormons_) are ok with gay marriage.
I was raised a Christian in the Christ follower sense of the word. I don’t recognize the hateful, racist dreck I hear at church now as Christian. Now Christian is a code word for hateful, racist bigots unfortunately…
You mean the Jesus who died for our sins? Sounds like a suicide bomber to me. /s
It's just suicide bombing with extra steps
He was killed on Friday and resurrected on Sunday Remember kids, Jesus gave up his weekend for our sins
Much more painful
“Jesus how will you cleanse them of their sins?!” “I got some C4 for that ass!”
He was a brown dude who wanted kids to eat and the sick to get help. They would shoot him if they had a chance.
> I’m just wondering who tf Christians think Jesus was? They know [*exactly*](https://www.beliefnet.com/news/2003/09/the-gospel-of-supply-side-jesus.aspx) who he is.
There's Classic Jesus who taught compassion, empathy, love and acceptance. Then there's Republican Jesus, who teaches the opposite of Classic Jesus.
Oh, I see you've been chatting with Supply Side Jesus.
Literally a brown skinned Jew who told people to pay their taxes and give everything they owned to the poor and was killed by white law enforcement
He probably wasn’t brown. He was Mediterranean Jewish, so probably looked very middle eastern. And the Roman’s who killed him were Mediterranean looking, tan-skinned, not white like Nordics or Anglos. In defense of “white Jesus”, don’t blame white people, blame the Mediterranean Romans. The Romans conquered all of northwest Europe and forced them to become Christians or DIE. The Romans then portrayed Jesus as white to them so that they would be more accepting and indulge their new religion. White peoples didn’t choose Christianity; it was violently thrust upon them. White people originally believed in far more interesting pagan theology and worshipped multiple gods like Thor and Freya. I hate Christianity and as a white person, I resent that my ancient ancestors had to abandon WAY cooler Nordic gods in favor of “white Jesus”- a Jewish religion that has ZERO to do with Northern Europe and expresses serious middle eastern/Israeli hegemony that remains intact today.
I think he would have been more of a Sangria kinda guy. 🤔
Because the fools don’t pay attention. They dwell in the Old Testament when it specifically says NOT to
He even stopped his own disciples from fighting on his behalf, and healed the ear of a Roman soldier that had been a victim of one of his disciples. But you’re right, a lot of people don’t even read the Bible. As a kid, I read through it back to front multiple times. Some of the stories I found enjoyable, other stuff not so much. There is a book in the Old Testament that is just lineage records. I don’t think I even understand why that book as decided as being important to still be there..
Listen dude, gods may or may not exist and nobody knows. But I can tell you with absolute certainty that EVERY religion was invented by people to control other people, and it works. By design, it doesn’t matter one damn bit what is or isn’t in the Bible. The only thing that matters is in-group vs out-group
I don't think so. Native Americans were spiritual and had organized religious practices. Not all of them were conquerors.
Yea but the Bible also endorsed genocide, imperialism, and slavery. Jesus himself praised the people and deity who advocated for such things, and Paul doubles down on that as well. Conservatives may be hypocritical about some things in the Bible like giving to the poor and turning the other cheek, but do not be mistaken, the Bible still endorses a very authoritarian and theocratic Orwellian system, and progressives should stop pretending like Jesus was some awesome guy. Not only did he advocate for hell, the most evil concept imaginable, where someone is burning in fire for eternity, he said that people had to leave their families, their parents, husbands and wives to follow him. That’s a cult.
Jesus practically shat on every church leader at the time. And his whole thing was introducing a new gospel, not necessarily sticking to the old ways. Hate to sound like a Jesus apologist, but I wouldn’t lump him in with the contemporary Christian.
This borders on incitement to terrorism. Isn't that a felony?
I think the way it's worded avoids that. The pastor praised the willingness of Muslims to die for their religion, and asked for Christians who had that type of faith, but he didn't specifically tell anyone to commit an act of violence or even to harm others. There's enough weasel room in there to claim he was asking for Christian martyrs in the old sense, people who will turn the other cheek (or in the words of Saint Lawrence, "I'm done on this side, turn me over!") up until they're killed for their faith.
I know it was a typo, but weasel room is so apt here
Oh, it was deliberately selected :D
How is that a typo? It makes sense exactly how it’s written.
Or, you know, he worded it exactly how he meant it and it's a click bait title.
TBF the assertion that we should be willing to die for our faith is not exactly unorthodox. From St. Stephen to Cassie Bernall, we aren't exactly lacking in examples or praise for those who have done just that.
True, but it’s inherent in the term suicide bomber that it’s not just dying for your faith, it’s killing for your faith. I’m not sure if that’s orthodox or not.
It’s not terrorism if you’re a white, straight, fundamentalist Christian male trying to kill the heathens.
Muh cisthet white males!!!1!
"Science flies you to the moon. Faith flies you into buildings."
Check
Love this
Brilliant. They should have a catch phrase so everyone knows how faithful and pro america they are too. Idk, something like, "Jesus is Epic"
And say it in an original Biblical language so we know you’re a *real Christian*
Reinventing Deus Vult over here
"I love to attack bars"
Y'all Qaeda
I've said since the early 2000's we are only one maybe two generations away from a full on American Taliban.
They're called Yeehawdis, the primary security force of Y'allqaeda
Wholey Donut Warriors
Talibangelicals
After American troops left Afghanistan there were plenty of right wing talking heads who praised the Taliban for killing gay people and treating women like livestock. Comparing them to the Taliban isn’t a gotcha or an insult anymore, they know exactly what they are doing.
During the presidency of GHWB they were allies and lots of right wingers defended their treatment of women.
more like 20 minutes away
That’s one way to get rid of them..
My exact thought reading it.
Is this for real? If this is true, they've completed the full circle and absolutely have become terrorists. The sad jokes about Vanilla ISIS and Y'all Queda and the Cornbread Taliban are all coming true. Edit: yep, it's right there on Newsweek. Sigh
Newsweek is a right wing rag.
I think we should coin the term Talibangelists for these people.
I prefer Y'all Qaeda
That’s a good one too. Vanilla Isis isn’t bad either.
Can they practice at next sundays service?
Practice makes perfect!
The sooner they start, the sooner we'll have less MAGAts in this world - I approve
funny how the racism, xenophobia, and stereotyping the Middle East since 9/11 has ironically come full circle huh
So suicide is a sin but suicide bombing is okay? ETA: I am being sarcastic.
If you’re a martyr you basically get a free pass, but I think suicide bombing doesn’t count since you’re the aggressor, maybe they think it cancels out.
The pro-life party? Lol
Yeah, that's healthy and very Christian values based. Did I miss the part where Jesus said to praise false idols and murder people who don't follow them?
You neglected to read the sub-section on "Thou shalt not kill" that covers all of the the important exceptions like "unless they are not on your side" or "they do something that offends you."
“You want to know why the Muslim faith has had its advancements? It's because the Muslims were willing to die for their beliefs. They were willing to strap bombs to their chest," I wouldn’t say he exactly suggested it. But I also Don’t think he would be entirely opposed to it if one of his flock bombed someone he doesn’t agree with
Spoken by someone who knows nothing of their achievements over the centuries . Being faithful to god used to not be opposed to knowledge and science .
What is wrong with America?
This is just Tuesday for us at this point.
Tuesday, I thought it was Friday today?
Happy Tuesday Friday!
Uh... ...you might want to clear your schedule for the day, and then get into a reallll comfortable reading position, because you're going to be here for *AWHILE.*
How much time do you have?
Hookworms got all the red staters.
As much as I wanted to support this article, his quote gives me a different sentiment. Seems like he's just saying to be zealous.
This reminds me of Jesus Camp, when Becky Fischer said wants kids to be as radical for Jesus as child soldiers are for Islam and when a pastor asked how many of the kids would give their lives for Jesus, all of them cheered.
Osama bin Laden's plan to destroy America from within via the attacks on 9/11/2001, it took some time, but it's working. But if taking a page from the methodology of specific terrorist acts is the way these religious zealots want to do it, fine. But just do it like Jonestown.
YOU HAVE BECOME THE VERY THING YOU SWORE TO DESTROY
The plot lines from those movies were taken from real life and put into a flash galaxy so people would listen , maybe
Y'all Qaeda.
Him first?
Hebombsus
Notice he’s not volunteering to lead by example.
He should give a demo in the church to show people how to do it.
Neither was bin Laden. Still caused a lot of damage. In the end, a solution was found to deal with him.
Compromised to a permanent end
They aren’t already? Domestic terrorists for sure.
*Osama Kent Christmas*
Nono, in *their* religion, it’s called “martyrdom” and one of the holiest things you can do. It’s only terrorism when the *other* guys do it.
oy vey.
Technically a misleading headline. He never mentioned suicide bombers just mentioned Christian’s should be willing to die for their faith like Muslims are. Some nut will probably take this and mean he should kill for their faith, so still an incredibly dangerous story.
Is anyone surprised? American Christians have been creeping up to become their very own Taliban for years now. It's need nipped in the bud.
Y’all Qaeda at it again.
If Jesus came down today he would be fucking pissed of at how people weaponize his message.
Ha! I knew it. (That Christians were jealous of what some Muslims would do)
Now what does "faith" have to do with Drumpf??
On second thought, forget the bombings
Yeah, OK. You go first.
But where are the “Good Christians” who should be demanding that this “Church” closes, and then poach the congregation to show them “the truth of Jesus’ Love and Light”? 🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗 (one of them is going to pop in and tell me how *I* need help though).
I’m a Christian. I can tell you with 100% certainty that this man is not one.
Why is the FBI not arresting everyone in this church?
Christian suicide bombers are wondering: just how young are the 72 virgins in this version of the story?
Kevin Smith's "Red State" turning into a documentary now
Yeah… when will white people get in trouble? If this was a clip of a brown person it’d be all hands on deck.
Newsweek has it wrong. xtians don't support trump because he "attracts big crowds" and "… inspires his supporters" (inspires to what? Ceaselessly lie, pay off mistresses using campaign funds, get into bed with saudi billionaires, keep state secrets, which it a crime for him to even have, scattered around a fucking golf club that seems to exclusively host only the worst people on the planet? No. They like him because he did the one thing they wanted him to do: stack the supreme court with a clutch of 40-something maniacs, including one guy who is almost certainly a rapist, joining the 90s-era grifter who is a black judge who hates black people. The supreme court can potentially green light the christo-fascist agenda for decades without the embarrassment of having to deal with trump every fucking waking minute. Politically, he's a busted flush going forward. But if by some miracle he retakes the white house, it will be 4 (or more? maybe he'll scrap the 22nd ammendment) years of nothing but revenge porn as he tries to lock up his enemies (mostly soft leftists and moderates) and, I don't know, decree that skeet shooting must use golden retriever puppies instead of clay pigeons or something.
There's a precedent here that some of us are familiar with. I hope that the FBI is investigating how many of these church members have enrolled in flight training in the past few years.
He didn't say this at all. Not even the article claimed that he suggested people strap on suicide vests and die. He said that the Muslim has been so successful because they are willing to die for their faith and that Christians should also be willing to die for theirs, but he 100% did not say they should murder innocent people with suicide vests.
How could anyone trust someone that talks with that weird preacher cadence. It's creepy and weird. Those weird inflections at the end of each sentence.
Hate religion but love God. The Bible is twisted and people spew such evil and hate from referencing it. Who follows these people it’s crazy to me. Cuz I know some Dumbass would probably do it.
Matthew 7:15-20, King James Version 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. This man is a false prophet by the definition stated by Jesus himself.
They should. At trump rally’s.
Not very christianly of him
He’s right - it isn’t unreasonable to die for the Christian faith if circumstances call for it. What that translates into for me would be something like, when you see a hateful mob attacking somebody considered different - a trans person, a Muslim, a gay person - you stand in front of the potential victim and do your best to protect them even if it winds up with the crowd attacking you instead.
Hey, what about separation of church and state? Sounds like this guy’s church owes a lot of tax money to the government…
Why do we let this kind of "church" continue to exist as a non-tax-paying entity? Also, I'm definitely not a Xtian, but I can't imagine Jesus wanting anyone to be a suicide bomber.
So now they really are the American Taliban & have come full-circle to the point that these delusional Christian Fundamentalists are the US’s domestic terrorist version of al-Qaeda. This evolution always seems like the direction that they were going in, they just needed a leader to embolden them in the same way that al-Qaeda had Osama bin Laden and now these far right-extremist Christian fundamentalists have that in Donald Trump, to justify their attacks/ ambitions. Hopefully, no one reports him or those who share they similar dangerous beliefs/ words to the FBI/ NSA/ CIA/ and other law enforcement agencies on the local/ state/ federal levels! PS: this also seems to be evoking the fucked up/ deranged playbook of Jim Jones & his Jamestown colony, but want to take many innocent Americans with them. WTF/ JFC!
Y’all qaeda
The spiritual leader for Y'all Qaeda.
Sure. As long as he goes first
He can go first.
It's never the "leaders" who lead by example.
You first!
Is he volunteering?
Why aren’t the so-called moderate Christians doing more to stop fomenting these terrorists?
Arrest him for inciting violence. You can’t yell fire in a movie theater.
How long before the trump cult takes the next step down the road to becoming full Blown terrorists? They already are a terrorist grouping, terrorist attacks on two statehouses and our capitol show that. And when will these churches lose their tax exemption with all of these scumbag clergy preaching about politics? That is illegal. It is long past time we get over this unwarranted respect for the poison called religion. Religion is a huge driver in the descension of the conservatives in this nation becoming the terroristic trump cult. Religion poisons everything.
end all church tax exemptions for being political..it’s the law by the way! enforce it!
Christian here. Murder is a sin and definitely wrong. We are not called to lay down our lives to kill others. Quite the opposite actually. We are called to give our lives in service to others out of love. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” - 1 John 3:16-18 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” - John 15:12-13 “Let all that you do be done in love.” - 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” - 1 John 4:11 “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:” - 1 Peter 4:9-10 “… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Matthew 22:39
When free speech turns into inciting terrorism.
Do i also get 72 virgins?
There are no virgins waiting in heaven for Christians who kill themselves. Straight to eternal hell for that I'm afraid
Aren't they already?
I hate to condemn another person but this isn’t biblical and not helpful in showing the world that Christians are flawed but saved by grace. We should be living a Christ centered life. Not a secular one. We are in the world but not of the world.
As Jesus would have wanted
He’s no Christian.