PULPIT MASTERS OF HATE

PULPIT MASTERS OF HATE 

     For some unexplainable reason the basic nature of many humans is evil. There are many forms of evil but one common form is just being plain mean. A husband is mean to his wife, parents are mean to children, employers are mean to employees, and land owners are mean to servants. It’s a very strange situation, but nevertheless true, that some find joy in the abuse of others.

   Another common form of evil is hate. It is a sad commentary but for decades hate has played a major role in the actions of social America. As tragic as that is, even more tragic is the fact that those actions have been condoned by the pulpit.  The responsibility of the church should be to teach people how to live successful lives. Unfortunately, too many times the techniques of the pulpit masters are teaching parishioners how to live unsuccessful lives.

   An easy sermon that requires little or no preparation is a sermon about hate.  This sermon receives multiple “amens” because so-called Christians enjoy hearing about the faults of others. The correct sermon should be to teach people the evils of hating, rather than how to hate.

    As unbelievable as it may seem, yet true, there are some who call themselves masters of the pulpit who are publicly advocating murdering a certain group of American citizens. It is also true that at least two potential presidential candidates for 2016 have based the center of their campaign around the act of doing harm to gays. I do not believe that the majority of Americans will allow our country to be moved into a backward direction. However, it is true that these candidates will receive some support because the self-righteous are always motivated by hate.

   May I suggest to the children of tomorrow that you climb aboard the “Peace Train,” as sung by Cat Stevens, because this train is conducted by love and runs on the track of happiness. If you ride this train you are guaranteed never to live in the state of regret.  I repeat the words of Roman Kent a survivor of the Nazi death camps, “HATE IS NEVER RIGHT AND LOVE IS NEVER WRONG.”  

    In order for America to become a better place for all, we must take a stand against the voices of hate, even if they come from political leaders or from the masters of the pulpit.

 

 

IS IT --- NAY --- TO GAY

IS IT-- NAY ---TO GAY 

   Even though there are many disadvantages in being gay, there are some advantages.  One major advantage is the ability to see things differently, and to recognize that there is more than one successful lifestyle. Many straight people can only see things in a straight line with no curves or bends within their thinking process. Modern global societies prove that there is more than one approach to successful living.

   The purported statistic that 10% of the population is gay is well underestimated.  The good Lord himself might be surprised to know just how many closet queens there are in the industrial nations of the world. It is a proven fact that the gay population greatly increases in countries that do not frown upon the gay lifestyle. 

   To bring about social change has always been a slow and difficult process. Modification of social behavior does not come as a prince in shining armor or as easy as wearing the glass slipper. Gays, as well as other oppressed groups, have paid a high price in obtaining basic civil rights. For decades gays have been slandered, humiliated, beaten, and murdered for a lifestyle that some consider offensive. It is common practice to see in the news or read in the newspapers people in important positions making offensive racial and homophobic remarks.  Even today there are political and religious leaders who are publicly advocating harm to gays.

   However, times are changing and the meanings of the words “diversity” and “tolerance” are being taught in most American schools. Recent polls show that a majority of Americans are willing to accept alternative lifestyles. Common intelligence says that tolerance is a much better alterative than hate.

    If you’re gay, you’re gay, if you’re straight, you’re straight, and there’s nothing you can do about it because sexuality is determined at birth. You’re either a male or female, gay or straight, and you have no choice in the matter.  So the sensible thing to do is allow people to be themselves and live in a peaceful world. 

 

 

 

 

 

FORCED SURRENDER

FORCED SURRENDER IS NEVER

COMPLETE SURRENDER 

     My heart feels pain every time I see a policemen use heavy-handed tactics of punishment upon citizens. The young high school and college students of Hong Kong wisely chose a nonviolent approach to achieve their goal of political change. They were prepared for the beatings, the pepper spray, the arrests, and jail time that they knew would come from the hands of an evil regime.

   Some might ask ---- What did they accomplish?  They brought the world’s attention to the evils of a one-party political system.  They re-opened old wounds as millions remembered the hardships they suffered at the hands of their oppressors for the cause of freedom. Their struggles also provided strength for other oppressed groups to continue their fight.   

     My blood runs cold when I realize that I have become a part of a world that stood by and did nothing as these young people were brutalized for the sake of democracy. But I find consolation in the fact that one day these victimized students will become parents and their children, even their grandchildren, will be taught the evils of oppression. Generation after generation will appear until one day the majority will be strong enough to overthrow their oppressors.

    I hope there is a heaven, and I really hope there is a hell, because I believe that evil should be punished.  I believe that every policeman who has used unwarranted acts of punishment upon innocent victims, and every slave owner who used a whip on the backs of indentured servants, or every soldier who participated in the Nazi death camps, will one day be held accountable for their deeds.

    I’ve tried to imagine what it’s like when a policemen’s night stick cracks your skull or a slave owner’s whip strikes your back or what it’s like to control your anger while marching into a Nazi death camp. Yes, it’s true, I have sympathy for the oppressed, but I know that exploited citizens will rise again. The Nazi death camps increased the desire for living. The scars from the slave owner’s whips drew the maps to freedom. Prison cells have become the classrooms for smoker’s choice, and the voices of hate have shaped the keys that unlocked the closet doors for gays.

   Oppression always provides the strength for the oppressed to win in the battle for freedom. 

MONSTERS IN HIGH PLACES

MONSTERS IN HIGH PLACES 

    He walked like a man, he talked like a man, and he looked like a man, but he was not a man—he was a monster. This man repeatedly raped a woman, because he said she was his property, and he could do with her as he liked. Then he murdered her husband who questioned his actions, and because he was a slave owner, he was never convicted of his crimes. This same man sat in the amen corner of the church and heard another monster condone his actions. The pulpit monster, with smile on his face, proclaimed to a congregation of churchgoers that all gays should be lined up and killed by a firing a squad. Outside this building, above the double doors, was the sign— “Christian Church.”

   A question faces the American people—Are we going to allow evil, one which permeates the pulpits, to move the world back into an earlier era of darkness? Are we not able to learn from the past? It is time to listen to the voices of those who have experienced the evils of hate. 

   Auschwitz, a Nazi German death camp, is a living example that hate will not endure the test of time. Roman Kent, a survivor of Auschwitz, said, “Hate is never right and love is never wrong. Hate leads to places like Auschwitz. All countries must make hate a crime.”
   Other survivors of the Auschwitz death camp told of soldiers jerking babies from the arms of mothers and, with smiles on their faces, stabbing the babies to death. Others told of soldiers laughing as they poured pellets of poisonous gas into the chambers that killed thousands of innocent people. The people of the world should ask the question—How is it possible for humans to be so cruel?  There is nothing that exemplifies cruelty more than an evil man with power, someone who is supported by brainwashed evildoers who carry out his wicked deeds. Also, we must never forget that major news outlets were approving the actions of the extermination camps operated by the Third Reich.   In the words of Roman Kent, “If it happened once, it can happen again.  We do not want our past to be our children’s future.”