Radically Left

Life is anything that dies when you stomp on it
--Dave Barry
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[Ranger will not be re-wallowing (to quote Dick Cavett) in the sorrow-porn of the day, each agency vying for the new angle, like the "Children of 9-11". Not today.]

Today we return to our homey Sunday homily form --

Sunday Homily: Was Jesus the world's biggest bleeding heart liberal, or, Would Glen Beck call Jesus a Bum?

This entry was inspired by Paul Longgrear's recent letter to the editor of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer sent to Ranger by a sleeper agent. Col. Longgrear, a minister and a brother-in-arms, objects to the idea of a "fair share plan" which he implies led to the socialization of this Great Nation and an endlessly raised debt ceiling.

Both Lisa and Ranger have conservative friends with strong notions of how to keep Old Glory flying high. It seems they are often emotional reactions which involve keeping certain people (= parasites) away from the pot of goodies that they have not earned, or alternately, which keep them parasitzed.

The parasites are people who need some assistance to make ends meet, and the fear is that they will keep the rest of us on a hamster wheel working for their salvation, or at least their existence. This is an adversarial relationship which presupposes that life would be better if the parasites could be separated from their host.

Many of these conservative thinkers also hold a strong Christian religious stance. Still, they also accept the rectitude of the use of torture in the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©), whose 10th birthday we commemorate today.

This all brought Ranger back to the founder of their religion, Jesus -- an unprivileged man conceived by an unwed mother and born in a stable. He was dedicated to the concept of uplifting the non-productive parasites in his society, i.e. the early Christians before they developed mega-churches with big screens, cheerleaders and quad sound systems.

Jesus was a thorn in the side of the Roman status quo who had consolidated power amongst the elite. Instead of genuflecting to authority, Jesus provided free wine and loaves and fishes on a socialist basis (= commodities). He also performed healing miracles for the most unsavory amongst his society (= free health care). Jesus was better than an EBT card.

These miracles tried to give the masses their "fair share" of the largesse of a newly sent Godson. "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). He was not speaking to the bankers.

As for the issue of illegals, wasn't the unverified journey to Bethlehem by a future mother of God an attempt by the Romans to deal with illegal immigration? And how did that end up for the Roman Empire?

Jesus's message formed the basis of a new religion which appealed to the hoi polloi of the times, and is now the predominant religion of the developed Western nations. But somehow, the founder's method was warped into something called prosperity gospel, and many Christians think that God somehow holds those in lower socio-economic rungs in disdain.

However, the words of their founder belie this notion:

"Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor ..." (Luke 18:22; Matthew 19:21);

"But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?" (James 2:7)

"And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: [yea, though he be] a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee" (Leviticus 25:35)

"I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak" (Acts 20:34)

"He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty" (Luke 1:53). "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt" (Exodus 22:21).

Of course, there is nothing that should link the fantasies of a nomadic desert people with the workings of our society or governing policies. The Bible ain't the Constitution and we are already a socialist nation. Since Christianity is a socialist dogma, Ranger concludes that religion is the problem and not the solution.

We seem to be led by the mish-mash that is the Old Testament meets the New: An eye for an eye, yet turn the other cheek -- "forgive up to seventy times seven". Do we/should we follow Christian values when dealing with religious enemies? Should "values" issues (homosexual rights; abortion rights) even be a part of national political discourse?

If someone would turn some water into wine, Ranger says he'll drink to the elimination of biblical dogma from the halls of Congress.

--Ranger and Lisa