Friday, February 23rd, 2007
More “Anti-Catholic Bigotry”
My mother is a church administrator (probably a bad job choice, if Tim LaHaye’s End Times Wankery series is to be believed), and as such, occasionally receives magazines aimed at church administrators. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t mention this, but there was an article in a recent issue of one such magazine, Church Business, that bears mentioning, particularly in light of the recent Bill Dono-spew nastiness. The article in question, entitled “It’s Not Supposed to Make You Sick,” is actually an excerpt from the book Soul Cravings by Erwin Raphael McManus. If you ask me, it is a ringing condemnation of the tactics espoused by the Religious Right (a.k.a., the “Theocracy NOW!” crowd). In fact, I would even argue that it is required reading for those wishing to argue in favor of a liberal Christian ethos. The comparison between “Syrian Diet Coke” (read the article for the context) and Western Christianity - particularly in light of the Religious Right’s efforts to declare themselves the sole representatives of Western Christianity - is incredibly apt. The opening sentence in the excerpt is especially salient in regards to the recent Edwards blogger kerfuffle.
So many things that have the name of Jesus on the label have really nothing to do with Jesus in the end.
