So That's What Jesus Would Do......(?)

[DisneyTN]

I'm pushing my cousin under a bus with this thread, but this is something that has been bugging me for several days now.

Last week, I drove down to Georgia for my Grandmother's funeral. I got to spend time and talk with my aunt's, uncles, cousins, and other relatives who were there.
One of my cousins is very active in his church. He volunteers his time to leading Bible study groups, Sunday Schools, and other church related activities. I say, kudos to him for being so committed to spending his free time serving his faith and serving a good cause. Very admirable. He and I got into a conversation over the current economic conditions and struggles facing America. I was so impressed with his optimistic attitude. "God will see us through this" was pretty much his outlook on the topic; I loved it! This cousin is two years younger than me, yet his faith is decades stronger and more mature. You can tell he has a powerful walk with the Lord.

After the funeral service, the entire family had congregated in a lunch hall for fellowship. Everyone was talking, saying their goodbyes, etc. My cousin mentioned above was talking with a group of us, and the subject somehow migrated to oil costs and the gas shortages facing the state of Georgia recently. My cousin was mentioning what to do with our country's used fuel.
"We should just dump it on all the Arab nations."
At first I thought he was just trying to make a (*tasteless) joke. When I discovered he was dead serious, and following statements made it clear he has bottled hatred for Arabs, I had to ask:
"So is that something they teach at your church? Who would Jesus dump oil on?"
He thought I was kidding, and didn't quite grasp the point I was trying to make.

Living in the southeastern United States, I've been noticing this ongoing trend with these "born again Christians" living down here in the Bible belt. Not just with my cousin, but everywhere. I had a youth pastor tell me once that he didn't like the state of Florida because of all the hispanics and foreigners. (???) Hmm. Preaching the Word one day, and making ethnocentric comments about hispanics the next. How far has the church fallen. I'm no Holy-Roller myself, and far from perfect, but I can almost guarantee you that there is nowhere in the Bible that states "For God so loved only the whites..." People say racism is a dying factor. God how I wish that were true. Yet living in a conservative red state (save me!!), I can vouch that we have so far to go. And you'd be surprised at where the most vile and racist remarks come from. That's right, from the people you shake hands with after hearing such an uplifting Sunday service of "loving thy neighbor". Trust me, you hear it all living in the conservative Bible belt. Sunday school teachers who would move if *those types moved next door to them, or think ALL the Arabs are here to destroy the world, etc etc. Give me a break.
As the saying goes, God, please save me from your followers.

 

[Katy Belle]

Very intersting. He surely is not alone in his tunnel vision Christianity.

We just returned from a trip to Jordan, where Jesus was baptised, hung out, etc. Dumping the oil on the Arabs... they live where Jesus lived...interesting.

Katy

 

[laurie31]

Wow, that's very sad.

As a Christian, I find it almost blasphemous to be bigoted against a person whom you ("you" meaning someone who calls themselves a Christian) believe is created in God's own image...and whom God loved so much that he gave His son to save them.

I understand how people can be bigots (I guess..) but I don't understand how people who claim to be Christians can also be bigots. Over and over the Bible tells us how Jesus treated the foreigners of His day - he treated them with love and respect.

I think the culture of racism is far more ingrained that a lot of people realize, meaning they don't THINK about what they're saying and what they really mean...but it's still very very sad.

The most segregated places in the south are the churches. Do we not think we're all going to the same Heaven

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I clicked on 'post reply' although I don't really know why... just instinct I guess... lol
Um...all I can say is, in MY experience it's those OUTSPOKEN Christians who seem to be 'sooo good' in their ways that you have to watch out for... so hypocritical

 

[disneyfreakk]

Those kinds of people are

Hypachristians

 

[jemgumby]

Wow, he needs to move my little town here in Mississippi he would fit right in. Oh and I hate where I live!!! People are very narrow minded good little "christians" and if you are not white, baptist and have been born here you might as well forget ever fitting in!

 

[bambootinker]

I don't agree with your cousin, but I would suspect that it has less to do with "race" than with the ongoing issues between the Arabs and the Jews. At least that is what I see and hear amidst the conservatives in this area.

It seems to me as though you are broadbrushing as much as he did.

 

[Disney Ella]

My brother-in-law is the same way. DH and I don't understand how you can claim to be so religious, yet have such hatred toward other people just because they don't look like you.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We had neighbors who said the same about homosexuals.

Constantly would preach God's word to us, basically tell us we were "going to the place downstairs" because we weren't "saved"

But in the next breath would tell us homosexuals would be with us because their way is not God's way, so they are not part of God's children. (??????)

A little hypocritical if you ask me.

 

[clarabelle]

Welcome to my world. I meet people like that all the time.
There is also an assumption around here that all christians think the same way and people often assume that I am in the same political party they are or feel the same way about current events.
I try to just worry about me and my walk with Christ and the person I want to be. If it comes up again you can quietly and with Grace tell him your viewpoints.
I think people often parrot things they have heard from other people. they think that attitude makes them more patriotic or with it. If you question him on it -you may give him some food for thought and he might realize how his jingoism makes him look.
Then again nothing may change.

 

[720L]

Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you're perfect. We are all sinners.

 

[binny]

Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you're perfect. We are all sinners.

well said.

I am a Christian and I am offended by what your cousin said. Not all of us are like that you know. Most of us just live our faith as best we know how. None of us can claim to be superior over another. As humans we all have our faults.

 

[eliza61]

There are always people like that in any race, religion, or country. My coworker in the lab next to me is a born again Christian. He is generally a very nice guy and is always dropping pearls of his faith (nothing to be annoying) and is a great coworker UNTIL he found out I was pro choice. Now according to him I am responsible for all the ills of society.

 

[jack hannah bananah]

It is always important to remember what a wise priest told me years ago:

The Christian Church is not a country club for saints;
it is a work-house for sinners.

I am not excusing his behavior, but don't condemn Christians for his (and others) ignorant statements.

 

[Buckalew11]

Things like that tend to be passed on from generation to generation. It is hard to hear because it is "hate". I do agree with Bambootinker though.

 

[BellvilleDad]

So That's What Jesus Would Do......(?)

No. That, apparently, is what your cousin would do. For your edification, he is not Jesus.

 

[cigarboo]

Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you're perfect. We are all sinners.

Exactly, which is why it's even more annoying when Christian folks talk about morals and push their views on other people. They're no better than the rest of the non Christian people. All religon, all people, all sinners.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

I've learned their are many people in this world that enjoy more the status of being Christian, than the principles of Christianity. I am a Christian and I am raising my children in a Christian church. I know that in our church they will never be taught to hate, to turn their backs on those less fortunate, nor to be intolerant of other's beliefs. There are so many churches that are so focused on "whose fault it is" and "the errors of everyone else's ways" instead of the actual teachings of what Jesus brought to us. Love for others, love for the world, and love for God. I don't remember him teaching about hate.

 

[nannerbadnanner]

No. That, apparently, is what your cousin would do. For your edification, he is not Jesus.

Exactly. By the way, Jesus loved everyone, but he never taught tolerance for sin. If your cousin is truly a Christian, he will be convicted of his actions. I have seen it happen many times. Being a Christian does not mean that you are perfect, it means that God's grace has forgiven you.

 

[DisneyTN]

The most segregated places in the south are the churches.

^My Speech professor actually mentioned this not too long ago. Very sad truth.

Come live in a red state for several months. You'll soon come to realize that most evangelicals value the life of the unborn much more heavily than those lives which are already here. They'll scream & holler the evils of abortion, but heaven forbid you marry a minority or come from a different nation. It's perfectly okay to wage wars based on faulty intelligence, and destroy the lives of innocent civillians(they are, afterall, not from here and could pose a threat). But you're the antichrist if you value a woman's right to choice and privacy when it comes to the abortion issue.

"Save the fetus, but to hell with those foreigners." (The red state conservative viewpoint in one line).