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Beck Blasts Social Justice as Counter-Christian

by: BlueCollar Daughter

Sat Mar 06, 2010 at 09:13:24 AM CST

Once again politically-progressive people of religious faith come under fire as a suspect class.  This week Glenn Beck upped the ante on his persecutory stance toward churches that support a progressive socio-political agenda when he told his Fox News listeners

"I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, the idea, hang on, am I advising people to leave their church... yes!... If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish."

Beck, in his inflammatory rhetorical style, went on to compare folks pursuing social and economic justice not only to communists (the old familiar meme), but also to Nazis.

Now, I am not a Mormon, but I know a few, and I have read their bible.  And I do know a central theological tenet to the faith for both Christians and Mormons is faith in Jesus Christ and his Great Command to love and serve God while loving and serving your neighbor as yourself.  Social equality, social justice, economic justice, selfless giving:  all pretty much main points of instruction in Jesus' teachings and ministry.  Care for the less fortunate, the sick, the fatherless:  very much God's thing.  But don't trust me, take a look at some of the more than 300 verses which riddle the Bible with what Beck would consider dangerous pinko ideas:

Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks

Lev. 19:19. Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.

Prov. 31:8. [Commandment to kings.] Open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

Luke 12:33. "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys."

Luke 3:11. And [John the Baptist] would answer and say to them, "Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise."

Mt. 5:42. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

I could go on and on, but you don't need a sermon and can read for yourself.
 

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What Would You Sit In For?

by: Lori Stee

Wed Feb 10, 2010 at 16:13:55 PM CST

(I recruited this story because I think this is one of the not-told important stories. - promoted by Grace Kelly)

Based on the civil rights "sit in" for blacks at lunch counters, what would I sit in for? I take the question seriously and literally. According to a report published by The Pew Center on the States, we imprison 1 in 9 Black men between the ages of 20 and 34. The United States incarcerates a larger portion of its population than any nation on earth. And for what? 75% are convicted for crimes of poverty and addiction. We squander limited financial resources, destroy lives and whole communities in the process, and we are no safer for the wasteful, cruel policies and practices that disproportionately target people of color and the poor.

Our punitive system of incarceration is the direct legacy of slavery and segregation, the mantle for which was transferred from a system of private ownership to institutionalized networks of state and federally operated prisons. But don't take my word for this assessment. Read for yourself the two sentences that comprise the XIII Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and find the word abolition or its synonym: 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

What would I sit in for? At the risk of sounding absurd, I have to say that I would sit in for the abolition of 21st Century slavery, abolition in the shape of sweeping reform at every point of contact in our criminal justice system. Looks like there are plenty of open seats at the counter.  

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Christian Progressive: A Lose-Lose Label

by: BlueCollar Daughter

Fri Oct 09, 2009 at 03:23:02 AM CDT

(BCD actually should have been upgraded to a frontpager already -- welcome to the team! - promoted by Joe Bodell)

For Christians who consider themselves political progressives, the expression "damned if you do, damned if you don't" is starting to hit a little too close to home.  Attacked by the conservative Religious Right as socialists and baby-killers, we seem more and more to also to draw slings and arrows from many on the ultra-liberal left. The debate over healthcare reform in the current administartion continues to be just one area where the those on the religious left are attacked coming and going.

A recent example is the response to progressive christian leader Rev. Jim Wallis' Faith Decalaration for Health Care Reform .  Wallis, a member of President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships wrote in the Huffington Post Wednesday...

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Radical Activism

by: jamesplumeria

Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 16:13:55 PM CDT

(Politics has much more diversity than the "left/right" line view of politics. This article is important to read to understand that even within defined groups like the GLBT community, different political goals exist.   - promoted by Grace Kelly)

Those words carry different meanings to different people. Depending on our economic or social backgrounds, "radical activism" can be a threat or a salvation. I have been on both sides of this issue. Always a fierce defender of those oppressed, I never took the step from dialogue to action. As an "armchair activist", I was always more concerned with my own safety. Educating myself on grassroots radical movements and organizations really widened my perspective on what was possible within myself. It took years to realize that I had been put in my place by fear.
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