>>How does the party of "christian" conservatives support the party of aggressive, pre-emptive foreign policy, and a party that not only supports but enables corporate greed. Greed and violence absolutely contradict the most basic, universal Christian principals. I dare say that if Christians actually lived their most basic Christian principals -- the world would achieve "nirvana"...
In theory, I agree with you. However, when you talk of Christians, you are not talking about people who fit into the same mold. They often have no more in common than the belief that Jesus is the son of God - and I'm not even sure that is universally true.
My relatives on my father's side were Southern Baptists. They went to church on Sunday and read a little of the Bible before going to bed each night. They were simple, though not stupid, country people, essentially subsistence farmers except for the tobacco crop. Their faith sustained them during difficult times. When they could no longer walk to church is when I got my first introduction to Christian hucksters and charlatans. They fouled the T.V. screen of a Sunday morning, peddling their hoax and asking for donations (to support their filthy rich lifestyles). Donations they got from my relatives - even if it was their last ten bucks. I never heard any of this stuff mlsoft comes up with. Those relatives sure never thought of themselves as pawns created by God for the sole purpose of serving Israel's interests and needs. And, I never heard anything about Jews going to hell. (That came later in Chicago.) They served in wars, but they did so out of patriotism, with a desire to protect not to kill others or enrich themselves. They helped out neighbors in time of need. I heard a lot of scripture as I grew up. My father, a jack (stolen from the Mormons as in jack Mormon) Baptist practically raised us on quotes from Shakespeare and the bible. But, when mlsoft and xlCimi get going, it sounds to me more like they are planning another Star Wars movie than talking about any religion with which I am familiar.
Now contrast that with this: When I was on the Navajo the first year, I had to share a house with a fellow teacher as no other housing was available at the time. She was a very proper Missouri Synod Lutheran who didn't approve of my ways. She was always trying (unsuccessfully) to drag me to church with her Wednesday evenings, in the dark, at 70 or 80 miles an hour on a road shared with horses and cattle. She fell in love with a Mormon cowboy, a fellow teacher. One day, she lost it and stood in the middle of the living room screaming hysterically over and over, "God damn God. How could he let me fall in love with a Mormon when the bible says you are saved by faith alone, not faith and good works." She was one of those like mlsoft who appeared to believe that no matter what kind of an SOB you've been, if you only believe, then the path to heaven has been paved with gold for you. Nwsun touched on this with some excellent posts the other night. He spoke of it in terms of Catholic Christianity, mentioning confession as a vehicle for absolution.
You wonder why there isn't more interest on the part of fundamentalists in living by Christian standards instead of just mouthing them? That's a question that makes me rabid. It results in my spouting gibberish like belief in a female god, which I no more believe in than I do an old bearded man in a robe handing out halos. But, I am a cultural Christian. I was raised that way. I raised my kids that way. I couldn't understand what the precepts of Christianity and warmongering had in common or why these right-winged fundamentalists weren't flocking into Ron Paul's corner. The answer is Israel. My first inkling of that came several months ago when my friend to whom I have alluded made a comment that she loves Christians and our military personnel because they are fighting to save little Israel. Mlsoft confirmed this for me the other day when he made this comment: ....>>To this point, He raised up the United States to protect and empower Israel, but it is unclear if the US will continue in that role. If not, God will raise up someone else to do so...<< That's when I became aware that there appears to be even another breed of Christian - the Israel firster. Too bad they're planning to kill off most of the Jews before allowing a select few into heaven, though. My cultural Christianity tells me that is not a nice thing to do. Besides, I prefer stories with a happier ending.
Folly, there is a reason "there is a church on every corner of every block in the South." That's a stretch, but the implication is that there are a whole lot of different versions of the same story. In mlsoft's state, just over the NC line there are those who include rattlesnakes in their services.
