There really is a war on Christianity!

It is being led by Televangelists! Every day they convince more people that Christianity is at war with other faiths. Every day they convince people that Christians hate. Every day they convince people that Christians are full of riteous anger.

I think of Frank Zappa's "Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk"

There's an ugly little wasel 'bout three-foot nine
Face puffed up from cryin' 'n lyin'
'Cause her sweet little hubby's
Suckin' prong part time
(In the name of The Lord)

Get a clue, little shrew
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Jesus thinks you're a jerk

Did he really choose Tammy to do His Work?
Robertson says that he's The One
Oh sure he is,
if Armageddon
Is your idea of family fun,
An' he's got some planned for you!
(Now, tell me that ain't true)

Now, what if Jimbo's slightly gay,
Will Pat let Jimbo get away?
Everything we've heard him say
Indicated that Jim must pay,
(And it just might hurt a bit)
But keep that money rollin' in,
'Cause Pat and naughty Jimbo
Can't get enough of it

Perhaps it's their idea
Of an Affirmative Action Plan
To give White Trash a 'special break';
Well, they took those Jeezo-bucks and ran
To the bank! To the bank! To the bank! To the bank!
And every night we can hear them thank
Their Buddy, up above
For sending down his love
(While you all smell the glove)

Jim and Pat should take a pole
(Right up each saintly glory-hole),
With tar and feathers too --
Just like they'd love to do to you

('Cause they think you are bad --
And they are very mad)

'Cause some folks don't want prayer in school!

(We'd need an ark to survive the drool
Of Micro-publicans, raised on hate,
And 'Jimbo-Jimbo' when they graduate)

Conviced they are 'The Chosen Ones' --
And all their parents carry guns,
And hold them cards in the N.R.A.
(With their fingers on the triggers
When they kneel and pray)

With a Ku-Klux muu-muu
In the back of the truck,
If you ain't Born Again,
They wanna mess you up, screamin':
"No abortion, no-siree!"
"Life's too precious, can't you see!"
(What's that hangin' from the neighbor's tree?
Why, it looks like 'colored folks' to me --
Would THEY do THAT...seriously?)

Imagine if you will
A multi-millionaire Television Evangelist,
Saved from Korean Combat duty by his father, a U.S. Senator

Studied Law --
But is not qualified to practice it

Father of a "love child"
Who, in adulthood, hosts the remnants
Of papa's religious propaganda program

Claims not to be a "Faith Healer",
But has, in the past,
Dealt stearnly with everything from hemorrhoids to hurricanes

Involved with funding for a 'secret war' in Central America
Claiming Ronald Reagan and Oliver North as close friends

Involved in suspicous 'tax-avoidance schemes',
(Under investigation for 16 months by the I.R.S.)

Claims to be a MAN OF GOD;
Currenty seeking the United States Presidency,
Hoping we will all follow him into --
The Twilight Zone

What if Pat gets in the White House,
And suddenly --
The rights of 'certain people' disappear
Mysteriously?

Now, wouldn't that sort of qualify
As an American Tragedy?
(Especially if he covers it up, sayin'
"Jesus told it to me!")

I hope we never see that day,
In The Land of The Free --
Or someday will we?
Will we?

And if you don't know by now,
The truth of what I'm tellin' you,
Then, surely I have failed somehow --

And Jesus will think I'm a jerk, just like you --
If you let those TV Preachers
Make a monkey out of you!

I said:
"Jesus will think you're a jerk"
And it will be true!

There's an old rugged cross
In the land of cutton --
It's still burnin' on somebody's lawn
And it still smells rotten

Jim and Tammy!
Oh, baby!
You gotta go!
You really got to go!

You know, the people who ignore commandments like "love one another," and spend all their time gossiping and tearing down other people. One of my churches is infested with this kind of crap. :(

but Rev. Cheesehead, that single issue disturbs me so much about churches. I don't know how you as a pastor deal with it. The factions that crop up really show you the very soft underbelly of the Church. I guess it's been going on forever, because Paul even spoke of it. It has kept me from being as active in church as I would like. I prefer to stay an outsider and just worship and not get into it. Once I was given the job to redecorate the parish hall. Oh. My. God. You would have thought I was slaying the innocents after Mass.

Frankly, the existence of this level of nastiness in God's house is one reason I believe in the Devil. He might not have horns and hoofs, but he exists and he preys on churches.

(Those who do, need to spend more time IN the church to find out.)

I discovered something this week. In the Revelation of John, he writes to the seven churches who have fallen away from faith. Someone was asking about the cities for a contest (which American city is mentioned in Revelation? Answer: two - Philadelphia and Smyrna.) I pulled out my bible to show her the answers.

But what shocked me was reading through the list of the other churches. One of them was Ephesus. Ephesus! Paul LOVED the Ephesians, because they really understood church, and they were a community which, during his ministry, was living and loving in the Christian way.

So what happened to cause Ephesus to fall so far? This will be a point for me to ponder for quite some time.

They sang in the choir. I inherited a lot of documents like the 1915 "yearbook" etc. (Bad year..priest died suddenly at age 35 and the sanctuary burned down!) It was a lovely church on Summit Ave. and was called "The Church of Millionaires" (which my grandparents were NOT) because it was just across the river from Wall Street. It had over a thousand families and many lovely and wonderful features, windows, sculptures, etc. It was a hugely successful church.

Today it stands abandoned, a shell. I have a picture of myself standing on the empty steps, where we have pictures of my grandparents' wedding.

It really taught me that the Church is not the church, if you know what I mean.

two very different things. We tend to worry about one to the detriment of the other, imo.