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 The nation is being savaged by the Great Recession, but many pastors are afraid to talk about its causes, some say. Preachers confront 'last taboo': Condemning greed amid Great RecessionBy John Blake, CNN (CNN) – Bishop Harry Jackson is a former college middle linebacker who can still hit hard. He once described same-sex marriage as a satanic plot to destroy the family, called on Republicans to get “political Viagra” and said African-Americans needed to abandon what he called the Gospel of Victimization. Jackson is not shy about stirring up controversy, but he stops short when it comes to preaching about greed. The Maryland bishop said he encourages his congregation to get through the Great Recession by saving and sharing. But he doesn’t want to alienate well-off members by talking about what’s behind the nation’s economic woes. "I've got to watch it," said Jackson, pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland. "I could get into some big teaching on greed, but the reality is that a lot of that teaching may wind up creating anti-economic-growth and anti-capitalism concepts (in people’s minds). ... I always talk about personal responsibility so we don't get into the blame game." The Great Recession is more than an economic crisis. It has become a spiritual dilemma for some of the nation’s pastors and their parishioners, religious leaders say. Three years after an implosion of the nation’s financial system helped push the country into its worst economic nosedive since the Great Depression, pastors are still trying to figure out how to address people’s fears from the pulpit. But first they have to deal with their own fears, some pastors and scholars say. Though millions of Americans are angry over the economy, little moral outrage seems to be coming from the nation’s pulpit, they say. Too many pastors opt for offering pulpit platitudes because they are afraid parishioners will stop giving money if they hear teachings against greed, said the Rev. Robin R. Meyers, senior minister of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City. “Money is the last taboo in church. It’s much easier to talk about sex than money,” said Meyers, who wrote about greed and the other seven deadly sins in his book, “The Virtue in the Vice.” The anxiety from the pews has become so palpable for some pastors, though, that they now feel like they have no choice. Andy Stanley, a prominent evangelical leader, said some in his congregation cheered when he launched a preaching series called “Recovery Road” to talk about politically touchy issues such as personal greed, the federal deficit and the sins of subprime loans.  The Rev. Andy Stanley says he took a risk preaching about greed to his suburban Atlanta congregation, but it has paid off. The senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, north of Atlanta, told his church members they should look in the mirror before they start blaming politicians for the nation’s economic woes. Any economic recovery “begins with me, not they,” Stanley said. It continues when pastors ask how such a wealthy country can stumble into such a financial mess, Stanley said. “Any time the entire country is talking about something, pastors should pause and talk about it,” Stanley said. “We know what Republicans and Democrats think, but what does the Bible and Jesus say?’’ Other ministers say an economic recovery also must involve pointing fingers. They say Jesus calls his followers to struggle against those people and policies that helped lead to the Great Recession. Charity – feeding the poor, steering people to job fairs – must be accompanied by justice, said Meyers. “It’s good to pull people out of the river when they’re drowning,” the Oklahoma pastor said, “but it’s also good to go upriver to see who’s throwing them in the river.” Should pastors speak truth to economic power? During the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, Walter Rauschenbusch, a Baptist minister, inspired others to fight against the economic inequality of the time with the “Social Gospel.” During the Great Depression, Father John A. Ryan built such a national following condemning the excess of capitalism that he was invited to deliver prayers at a presidential inauguration. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spent the last three years of his life focusing on poverty. When he was assassinated in 1968, he was on the cusp of leading a nonviolent, interracial army of poor people into the nation’s capital to demand a fairer distribution of wealth. These ministers who took on the big economic issues of the day were inspired by the example of Jesus, who angered the powerful by condemning the economic exploitation of the poor, religious scholars say. His teachings are seen throughout the New Testament in parables such as “The Rich Man and Lazarus.” “Jesus took sides – he said he didn’t come to bring peace but a sword,” said Vincent Miller, a Catholic theologian and author of “Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in Consumer Culture.” Miller said pastors who are afraid of angering congregants by talking about touchy economic issues ignore the Gospel. “You can’t preach the Gospel without alienating people. That’s part of it. You’re not helping people if you’re not alienating them,” said Miller, the Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture at the University of Dayton in Ohio. The recession divides preachers, not just politicians That leaves pastors with the challenge of interpreting Jesus’ message for today’s economic woes. On that front, the pulpit is as divided as the nation’s politics. Consider the cause of the 2008 economic meltdown. Was it primarily the result of Wall Street greed? Jay W. Richards doesn’t think so. Richards is a senior fellow at the conservative think-tank the Discovery Institute and author of “Money, Greed and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and Not the Problem.” Greed was a factor in the 2008 financial crisis but not it’s primary cause, Richards said. There were other major factors, including the tendency of Americans to live above their means and policies that encouraged banks to dilute mortgage lending standards. In addition, he said, large financial institutions were encouraged to engage in risky behavior because they knew the federal government would bail them out. The causes of the 2008 crisis were so complicated that some of the smartest people in the world failed to anticipate it, Richards said. The first thing pastors should do during tough economic times is “pray for, comfort and encourage” parishioners, he said. “If a pastor suggests that the financial crisis happened because of a few greedy corporate titans and some Wall Street traders, that’s a sure sign that he doesn’t understand the crisis,” he said. Neither should Christians condemn the growing gap between rich and poor, Richards said. “Denouncing a presumed gap between rich and poor is, more often than not, a symptom of economic confusion, not prophetic wisdom,” he said. “It can also mask envy, and is usually invoked just before someone calls for the state to coercively confiscate the wealth of some and give to others.”  Bishop Harry Jackson says Americans can experience a miraculous economic recovery if they return to God. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, income disparity in the United States has increased 40% in the past 30 years. In 2010 the nation’s poverty rate rose to a 17-year high, with more than 46 million people – 15.1% of the population - living in poverty and 49.9 million living without health insurance. Despite these grim statistics, Richards said he believes people born in America today can still succeed if they work hard and get a good education. “The American Dream is still alive,” he said. “The fact that millions of people from around the world still want to come here is a sign of that. … If someone works hard in school and develops good financial habits, they’re more likely to do reasonably well financially than most people were for most of human history.” The Rev. Jim Wallis, a prominent evangelical who has worked with Democrats, has a different perspective. He said it’s clear that greed was a major factor in the economic collapse and that a wide gap between the haves and have-nots is social dynamite. “History shows that an increasing gap between the rich and the poor is a prime indicator of imminent collapse,” Wallis wrote in his recent book, “Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street and Your Street.” Wallis said he hoped his book, written right after the 2008 meltdown, would spark a movement among the nation’s churches to re-examine the country’s economic values. But he said many of the nation’s pastors operate like politicians, afraid to alienate their wealthy donors. “We said the public is ready for this. The church is ready for this,” a weary Wallis said of his hopes for such a movement. “Boy was I wrong.” Where have all the prophets gone? Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of one of the nation’s largest churches, the 40,000-member Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. His 90-minute services are broadcast nationwide each Sunday, and he’s just come out with a book, “Every Day a Friday,” which encourages people to have a “prosperous, victorious year” and be “dream releasers” by helping others realize their goals. Osteen said some of his church members have been hit hard by the recession, but he prefers to preach about the cures, not the causes, for the nation’s economic ills. Part of his message: Live within your means, don’t give away your power, live without crutches and travel light. “We go through difficult times, and it’s easy to get trapped in the past thinking about what didn’t work out,” he said. “At some point, we gotta move forward. I’m not supposed to just endure my life. I’m supposed to enjoy it.” Back in Maryland, Jackson said he tells his congregation that the nation’s economic problems are partly God’s way of encouraging the nation to return to a “biblical faith.” He said there will be a “supernatural economic recovery” if Americans practice generosity. “If you have a bowl of rice, why not share a quarter of that bowl with someone who is needy?” he said. Those kinds of sermons annoy Meyers, the Oklahoma pastor. He said too many pastors have reduced Jesus to a “financial adviser, not a prophet.” He said pastors should also call for justice. He said it’s a crime that no bankers or financial leaders behind the 2008 collapse have gone to jail. “We’ll send an African-American teenager off to the slammer who robs a 7-Eleven, but we won’t do anything to a banker who helped cause the collapse of the entire banking system,” he said. But most preachers won’t say that, he said, because much of the church is too captive to greed to address the moral challenges of the nation’s economic problems. He doesn’t expect politicians or other leaders to step into that void because too many are beholden to the rich and powerful. “There just aren’t that many prophets left,” he said. “A prophet is someone who is willing to tell us the unpleasant truth about ourselves. If we can’t bring unpopular messages, who will?” |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, with daily contributions from CNN's worldwide newsgathering team and frequent posts from religion scholar and author Stephen Prothero.  |
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The tie between Christianity and capitalism in the United States is the definition of an unholy alliance. Capitalism is JUST an idea. It is not the worst idea but I refuse to believe the end-all argument of economics was conceived in the 16th century. Just like any idea, it has flaws and inaccurate assumptions which should be addressed and improved upon, not indoctrinated like a holy book. If you want to know what happens to a power that won't challenge centuries old ideas, read the modern history of China, about what happened when an indoctrinated idea of society (Confucianism) clashed with the new systems of the West. China has spent the last 200 years recovering from that mortal blow and is just now beginning to tread water. If you believe your religion to be pure then don't marry it to a man-made idea that is imperfect by definition.
Well said.
Peace...
But... they need the collection plates filled. That's how it works.
Religion is a business. Religious CEOs and management (Pope, Bishops, Cardinals, Pastors, Preachers, Ministers) will follow the money. Those with the largest "gifts" to give to the Church will do so only if that Church reflects their position. That's why the Churches seem to mirror the viewpoint of their largest donors.
Christ and the money changers, enough said!
That and Matthew:25
Jesus would NOT be down with "The Prosperity Gospel".
This is crap!!! When the United States was becomming a nation...the churches played a critical role in providing services for those in need. Fast forward...today our Govt limits charity...they want to be in control...today there is little motive for the well off to donate...Also churches have to be so careful on what they say or run the risk of losing there non profit status. I
We'll just put you down on the side of greed. Thank you for your opinion.
"today our Govt limits charity." Where? Do you see FEMA throwing the Red Cross and the Salvation Army out of disaster areas?
Sorry, as there is a separation of church and state the government cannot rely on churches... and not all people, and the numbers are increasing, are jesus sheep
screw them both.
and for those who do not wish to believe in a god, I am sure you would prefer a happy day.
Have a happy day!
I already have happy days, and a decent life all things considered, and god(s) had nothing to do with it. God is not Necessary for happiness, people are.
FROM THE ARTICLE:
" Back in Maryland, Jackson said he tells his congregation that the nation’s economic problems are partly God’s way of encouraging the nation to return to a “biblical faith.”
There's always the group that believes that God is "encouraging" or "teaching" us lessons through tragedies, etc...
I always wonder how they (know) this for a fact...?
Peace...
Sadly, many Religious people are Greedy Fanatic Hypocrites. All religious people are NOT fanatics (and as a Christian I am not a greedy hypocritical fanatic), but many fanatics are dangerous religious Greedy people trying to control people‘s lives with their religion. America, If YOU let them, these Dogmatic and Religious Fanatics are going to DESTROY our country. Fanatic Religious People (ALL faiths – Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Mormon, etc.) are one of the PRIMARY reasons why the world is in a perpetual state of Wars/Strife, because it seems they can’t think or act without INJECTING THEIR religion into an issue. Top 7 Signs that YOU are a DOGMATIC, HYPOCRITICAL Christian RELIGIOUS FANATIC:
7 – You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours. You blindly follow your religious leaders (i.e. Preachers, Pope, Priests, Imans, etc.), as if they are God, never questioning their GREED, lies, statements and actions, and You are INCAPABLE of thinking, actions, and using sound logic, reason, science, and intelligence to arrive at a conclusion, WITHOUT INJECTING YOUR religion into an issue.
6 – You would be screaming from the rooftops in OPPOSITION if Muslim Koran Sharia Law (or another religion different from your own) was imposed upon everyone and YOU were denied Equal Rights if you did NOT abide by Muslim Law, but you think it is OK to impose Christian Bible Laws on everyone to DENY OTHERS Equal Rights if they do NOT abide by Christian Bible Law. You say the Bible is the ‘Holy Word Of God’ and must be followed for verses/interpretations that support your PERSONAL position on a subject, but IGNORE the Bible when passages do not support your positions, and you have no respect for freedom of and from religion and Separation of Church and State.
5 – You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt. You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God. You also laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.
4- Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don`t even flinch when hearing how God slaughtered the babies of Egypt in "Exodus", ordering of ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!
3. You reject the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in tents guessing that Earth is a few generations old. You believe that the entire population of this planet, with the exception of those who share/follow your beliefs, will spend Eternity in a Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."
2 – While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to
convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.
1. You actually know a lot less than many Atheists and Agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history – but still call yourself a Christian.
@jrcnnjr
That list looks awfully close to my pal, @Colin's list...?
Peace...
@Peace: I am not sure who Collin is, but if his comments are similar, he sounds like a smart guy.
@jrcnnjr
Oh... yeah... He's been posting many of his "Top 10 reasons..." lists.
Quite brilliant and funny actually.
Regards,
Peace...
truth alienates the wicked. this must be faced in a time of relativism. truth is gospel, not islam or any other religion.
I know what I saw in the political arena and its our reach and what exist around every single one of us that reflects our lives and the direction were on, it is only done by ourselves. Jesus knows Whole and if we believe its to be separated, you would not need to understand or ask how the crisis has hit us.
i am not sure that i understand you but i believe that history and critism are two improtant things. maybe you could explain a little more about not need to know why or how this crisis came.
jesus is the greatest lie ever .there was no historical man named jesus the whole story of jesus is the story of the SUN...go figure
shush satan
CNN – there's no real news on your website. It's al crap like this article. Since when do u care what Christians think? You mock them constantly. U didn't seem to be very interested in what Obama's rev. Wright had to say in church during all the years that Obama sat in the pews. Now, church sermons are important to u. Give me a break.
CNN has an agenda? I'm shocked.
Greed is a huge problem. It says in the Bible that it is harder for a rich man to get to heaven than a poor man. Jesus came to help and heal the actual poor people and there are many preachers that try to get away with saying that Jesus actually came to help the poor in spirit as a reason for not helping poor people. Some people try to say that being poor is a curse and that the poor actually choose to have that curse on them. Let's pretend for a moment that a great number of Americans wish for a curse like these preachers speak of. Do you really think people would choose to not have food or healthcare for their children? When the apostles asked Paul to keep the poor in mind as he traveled around preaching to the gentiles they were talking about the actual poor people. James says faith without works is dead and this is where Christians get lost. Some of them think that if you do something to help other people because you think you are going to heaven for it that makes the act of having helped someone a bad thing. Jesus doesn't mind if good things happen out of lies even. If the Holy Spirit is on all of our hearts at birth that helps us decide between right and wrong whether we choose it or not then more people should find it in their hearts to give to the needy. These preachers are actually very similar to the Pharisees who were responsible for murdering their own representation of God on Earth. By calling poverty sin and refusing to help the poor they become the people that Jesus will say, "I never knew you". I know this from the bottom of my heart. The rich need to be aware in these end times that the fate of their soul rests on the sincerity of their hearts when they give. God knows when a man only gives to save himself. That is between him and God though.
Who are u?
If you're poor because you're lazy, guess what, it's a sin. The apostle Paul also said he who does not work should not eat. It's not that hard. This excuse you bring up is nothing but a fabrication in your own mind.
Your ancestors is a dirty mouth to speak about God and transfer to every race because of hiding the secrets after becoming a modern people but still a blood to blood race. Forget about the healings etc. etc.
Religion should stay out of politics, period. Not the economy, not anything else, either. Out. Completely.
So you're one of the greedmongers, I take it.
I'm a flaming liberal who believes in complete and total separation of church and state, just as it says in the 1st Amendment.
sad fact is, religion is the root evil of many things. Don't be all pious you Christians out there. You are not perfect. Those darn crusades for one. And you hate on other religions. Isn't it about time to come to grips and realize it is all fiction?
The muslims were doing back prior to the crusades what they r doing now, but with better results – meaning taking over countries and harming the citizens, so the Christians, as they are today, went on a crusade to halt the muslim takeover. Nothing wrong with that.
Atheists and religious people disagree on much, but they do agree on this: Whatever wealth you gained in this life-time is definitely NOT going with you upon death.
Jesus would help those in need, like he always did no matter what.
Well he doesnt, as witnessed everyday all around the WORLD, the expectation is that WE help the left behind, thats what determines your Christianity. And is what is being watched.
If you will recall the party stopped when he decided that pagans were having to much fun.
why are religious organizations TAX free????
EVERYONE should be paying their fair share of taxes..... PAY UP or GET OUT.
Yes, but it seems that if u r a friend of Obama's as is GE's CEO, then you pay zero. Liberals are hypocrites.
@dinak
" Yes, but it seems that if u r a friend of Obama's as is GE's CEO, then you pay zero. Liberals are hypocrites. "
Your response to @bam, didn't really address the central issue of his posting of..."Churches should be taxed."
Your bringing in President Obama was just a deflection. I mean come on, dude... And you don't think that Bush, and... oh, yeah Cheney and Rove didn't do that much and so much worse ? Come on... get real here.
And as for your final sentence, where you said: " Liberals are hypocrites."
Way to go with the massive over-generalization of a class of people.
It's kind of like saying..."All Republicans, tea-partiers and Christians are idiots." Same logical level of a blanket statement, but of course... I would never state such a thing.
Regards,
Peace...
Churches should NOT be taxed. Except for the few Mega churches in large cities, most churches in America are barely keeping their heads above water. Taxes would probably cause them to close, but many of you would prefer that, wouldn't you...I doubt there's anyone in my church that makes over $100,000. The richest one is probably the University President. My pastor makes under $50000 a year. He owns one vehicle, and he lives in a small three bedroom house. We help keep a women's shelter afloat, send money to missionaries that not only provide spiritual needs but food, medicine and water as well, provide services for a local food bank, have run a discount food program, helped out with disaster recovery, and provide some financial assistance to those who need it (not those who sit on their behinds all day because they are lazy). I'm not saying this because I want to somehow proove how pious we are. I couldn't care less about that. I'm saying this because if you want to tax my church, you just took away our ability to do all the things I mentioned. And it's not just us. Many churches do the same things. Sure, you can give money on your own, but any charitable organization has it's own administrative and other costs. They are tax exempt, and churches that meet the same requirements should be too.
All he makes is $50000 a year? That is all? Do you have any idea what you are saying? Nearly 1/6 persons in America is at the poverty level . . . . which is at around $11,000 a year. The government should not be supporting religion. These religious groups have to much power, interfere with govenrment, and as a result, they eclipse the power of the average citizen who is not religious.
Make them pay their fair share.
Regarding Greed:
"“We know what Republicans and Democrats think"
We do? They never seem to SAY what they THINK so how do we know, only what they want to be heard?
"but what does the Bible and Jesus say?’’
The bible is a dusty old book that has nothing to do with 2011 and Jesus, if he ever existed, is long dead.
Big Government, Big Business, Special Interests. Thank you for destroying our country.
Sure! Blame the middle class. We do ALL the heavy lifting and just get kicked in the teeth. "Oh, it is your fault for living beyond your means and racking up credit card debt."
Ok, I make six figures and can't afford a fuk-n college education for my kids. My fault. Not the banks. Not special interest. Not White collar criminals and bent congressmen. Me. Fine. I'm the problem.
Fu-k all you rebublican wall-street ba-s-stards. I wish there was a hell so you could go there. What comes around goes around kok sukirs.
Right on
sorry those are liberals that robbed with with social programs Obama care and Unions.
Christian Economics/ Greed 101:
The Baptizer drew crowds and charged for the "dunking". The historical Jesus saw a good thing and continued dunking and preaching the good word but added "healing" as an added charge to include free room and board. Sure was better than being a poor peasant but he got a bit too zealous and they nailed him to a tree. But still no greed there.
Paul picked up the money scent on the road to Damascus. He added some letters and a prophecy of the imminent second coming for a fee for salvation and "Gentilized" the good word to the "big buck" world. i.e. Paul was the first media evangelist!!! And he and the other Apostles forgot to pay their Roman taxes and the legendary actions by the Romans made them martyrs for future greed. Paul was guilty of minor greed?
Along comes Constantine. He saw the growing rich Christian community and recognized a new tax base so he set them "free". Major greed on his part!!
The Holy Roman "Empirers"/Popes/Kings/Queens/Evangelicals et al continued the money grab selling access to JC and heaven resulting in some of today's richest organizations on the globe i.e. the Christian churches (including the Mormon Church) and related aristocracies. Obvious greed!!!
An added note: As per R.B. Stewart in his introduction to the recent book, The Resurrection of Jesus, Crossan and Wright in Dialogue,
"Reimarus (1774-1778) posits that Jesus became sidetracked by embracing a political position, sought to force God's hand and that he died alone deserted by his disciples. What began as a call for repentance ended up as a misguided attempt to usher in the earthly political kingdom of God. After Jesus' failure and death, his disciples stole his body and declared his resurrection in order to maintain their financial security and ensure themselves some standing."
Your theory has less historicity than the one you're trying to debunk. Good work, Sherlock.
Copy and Paste no doubt.
If the disciples stole the body of Christ, why were they willing to die for a lie? There is no evidence the disciples profited from their evangelistic efforts and in fact Paul incurred many afflictions for the resurrected Christ. I know from your mentioning Crossan that you adhere to the standard protocol in his circles that if the evidence doesn't agree with your worldview, you add it to the "legendary development" column. The reality is that until you have had an encounter with the risen Savior such as Paul had, regardless of your religious education, you will not and indeed cannot understand any of it. Unfortunately Crossan and his ilk have devoted their lives to a line of study they do not believe.
i think you are wrong about jesus being in it for the money.
screw you and your religious bs pop your head out of your ass.
Yes, it's true that hard work and education can help, but the fact is that sheer wealth is a much better safety net than income because it's easy to make more money with existing capital. So, I wonder how Jay W. Richards manages to reconcile his views with the Bible itself. (For example, there's Leviticus 25, which calls for periodic wealth redistribution every 50 years.)
is richards trying to reconcile his thought to the bible?
I thought the last taboo was admitting the whole thing was nonsense?
Shhhhhhh!! You're not supposed to talk about christian club!!
Come one come all, see the fantasticly real god! feel its touch, warmth, the burn, feel the god that you have been without for so very long! come with me and you will see a true sight to behold more then anyother and the best part is, no special offerings are needed, no place of whorship, just an open hand of life and death. This is the one true god as we know any form of gods on earth. This is the one and only creation that can bring life and death by simple existence. It knows more about the history of our planet then our planet itself. It is what scorned the jews in the dessert not an invisible creation of man! This is what people see when they claim to have seen the light! Only two special days a year, and we get a bonus show of dissappearance and reappearance every so often. My God has shown me the path that lay before me, and said not to me to follow one or the other but instead left it upon me to make my own choice of which way to go. The most important thing about my God is that is has children, but they are not to be whorshipped as they are rivals in the cosmos for the love of my God. The closer you are to my God is not always the safest however, as is being the furthest away. Both have a negitive affect. My God knows math, and science, most importantly knows balance, and teaches without teaching. But my God does scorn the ignorant! Come and whorship with me that which has been whorshipped by the greatest people ever known, whorshipped the longest by the most people in history. Come feel the warmth of my God, and know what it is to live with God always there to shining a light on you. I call my God the SUN. Others have called it Aton the sun disk, but that was 3000 years ago in Egypt, even then the whorship of the SUN was an ancient one long forgotten by the Eyptians at that time. E ven if you wish not to follow belief is not needed as proof of my God is there, all around you, in every thing you touch shows its power.Oh and my God doesn't do to anyone differently then anyother, all shall recieve equal treatment. Go and be in the light.
i stand by my SUN. I know that there are a great deal more stars in the universe then the number you can state, but mine is the one that gives me, us, warmth, air, food, drink, basically – life- and so as i stated its MY GOD – THE SUN... i stated that there may be lesser gods on an earthly realm, but mine created the earth, and keeps it living. I preach its energy, and by transferrence becomes us and all living things on this planet. When it dies is when the memory of it begins if we as a species still exist, but long before its implosion it will engulf the earth during an expansion of the star, called a red gaint, just before going super nova, then finally poof- black hole lives for a split second, then again poof! I have an ok/whatever understanding of stars. The logic of whorshipping our SUN is beyond arguement, calling it a GOD is illogical but nessesary to gain a following as to move the civilization past the moronic idea of god as its currently understood.
Oh my God can power a car so you have no need for earth based fuel. My God gives its power freely and to all creatures, we are stupid to not use it!
using the law of conservation of matter and energy, the energy given off by the sun simply transferrs to us thru food and warmth, but the whorshipping goes beyond that. if the planet were even just a few hundred feet closer to mars we would be very cold all the time, if closer to the sun by equal distance, very very hot. so everything points to the sun as the true life giving object to whorship if you were to whorship anything- logically speaking!
fear not my friends for all answers can be answered..
tl;dr
Look, I can see how you must enjoy reposting that, but really, it sort of sucks.
I enjoy the satire, but you fail big-time when it comes to making paragraphs and making it readable.
Plus it's too long.
Summarize, sir or prepare for a deluge of contempt.
Oh that hippy. He has been re-posting that idiotic thing all day. Don't worry about him. He is just high and actually, can't type. He has to cut and paste so cut him some slack. He loves his sun God and I made sure to tell him to put on plenty of sun screen, even when it's cloudy. He is not real smart, but he has a computer.
"It is what scorned the jews in the dessert not an invisible creation of man! "
Why did you have to mention "dessert? Now I'm hungry.
When in doubt copy and paste and let some one else do the thinking for you...Christian and Atheist alike.