A perspective of 'Christianities Reputation':
An outsider looking in
First a couple of definitions are in order: In general terms, a 'Pagan' is a person who does not acknowledge your God and a cult is a group of people who adhere to an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices. I do not hold to the beliefs of any organized structured religion, for all practical purposes, I am much in the same mind set as the Founding Fathers and the best description of my beliefs are that of a Deist, a follower of the "Natural Law".
With that being said; If I made the statement; There are more than 1,200 Pagan Christian Cults on the North American Continent, which translates into 1,200 differing interpretations of Biblical Scriptures. Which one of these sects is telling me the truth or perhaps better phrased; Whose interpretation is closest to the truth?
There are two things with the above paragraph which would be a cause of many arguments. Firstly, there are the words 'Pagan' and 'Cult' to contend with. These are general words and not specifically owned by any group. Yes, people can find a reference to twist them into their personal perspective, but the etymology or word origin of these words are:
pagan - 14century., from L.L. paganus "pagan," from L. "villager, rustic, civilian," from pagus "rural district," originally "district limited by markers," thus related to pangere "to fix, fasten," from PIE base *pag- "fix." Religious sense is often said to derive from conservative rural adherence to the old gods after the Christianization of Roman towns and cities; but the word is older than that in this sense, and is more likely from use in military jargon for "civilian, incompetent soldier," which the Christians picked up with the military imagery of the early Church (e.g. milites "soldier of Christ," etc.). (Online Etymology Dictionary; http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/index.html)
cult - 1617, from Fr. culte, from L. cultus "care, cultivation, worship," original pp. of colere "to till," from PIE base *quel-, *quol- "move around, turn." (Online Etymology Dictionary; http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/index.html)
If a Christian were to state that it is an insult to Christianity, and then in turn use these words to describe another; This action would just be pure hypocrisy. The point I am trying to make here is; Words are not worth fighting over and ignorance of language is the cause of these arguments. Which is why this Bohemians first rule of discourse is to agree to agree on clarifying contextual definitions.
Now secondly, is the point of having so many subdivision of such a large religious grouping is to say the least, a bit confusing especially considering that world wide there are over 22,000 different Christian denominations and sects (U.S. News and World Report, March 1991) to contend with. Basically, I would say that 'Organized Religion' is a pretty messy topic to deal with, but what really makes it worse is that so many sects have re-written history to justify their existence. And when history has been re-written, those who blindly follow only serve to continue upholding the lie as 'Truth'. Maybe this is why Jesus said; "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves".
To re-write history is to perpetuate a lie, but the gravest of lies is the 'Lie of Omission'. The 'Lie of Omission' contains something you don't want others to know you did or didn't do. If one has to resort to the 'Lie of Omission', they are admitting they are a deceiver, an imposter and a betrayer of 'Trust'. Once this particular lie is exposed, nothing which is said by such a person, should every be taken without a spoonful of skepticism. Politicians and Religious Leaders are the worse offenders of this type of lie, so much so, we have come to except it as a 'Business as Usual' exhibition.
The point here is; Why should I believe what any faith has to say, when I know a large portion of what they say is 'Truth, is simply false. This countries Constitution was structured by Deist, who had seen the evils perpetrated by the tyranny of both King and Priestcraft; Thus they established a Government of and by; "We the people..." They separated any 'Organized Religious Rule' and/or 'Authoritarian Rule' from participating in the business of 'Government'. The obvious intent was to keep tyranny from ever getting a foothold in our style of Government.
No grouping of 'Men with Ideas' are capable of ruling this country. The 'Nature of Diversity' is so entrenched in its soul, that it cannot be removed without the total annihilation of its architecture, and would have to be replaced with a vicious 'Authoritarian Rule'. If this were to happen, it would pit brother against brother in such a horrifying way, the Civil War would look like a little skirmish.
Today we are faced with the Bush Administration and its attempt to do the unthinkable; Create a Christianized State. Many Church Leaders and Christian Politicians have been promoting the idea that this country was founded upon some Christian Theocratic Principle, is a lie. If the Founding Fathers were Deist almost to the Man, where does a Christian Theocratic Principles come into play. It doesn't, these Men of Principle knew what they were doing, and any first year student of history can easily debunk this lie and put the reason for it into proper perspective and show it for what it is; A Power Play for Control!
I could offer several pages of quotes on the mind set of the Founding Fathers views on the subject of 'Organized Religion'. But... I'll give you one quote by Thomas Jefferson which I feel exhibits the passionate intent and sanity displayed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights:
I am for freedom of religion, & against all maneuvres to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another: for freedom of the press, & against all violations of the constitution to silence by force & not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents. And I am for encouraging the progress of science in all it's branches; and not for raising a hue and cry against the sacred name of philosophy; for awing the human mind by stories of raw-head & bloody bones to a distrust of its own vision, & to repose implicitly on that of others; to go backwards instead of forwards to look for improvement; to believe that government, religion, morality, & every other science were in the highest perfection in ages of the darkest ignorance, and that nothing can ever be devised more perfect than what was established by our forefathers. (Letters by Thomas Jefferson; A Profession of Political Faith; To Elbridge Gerry, Philadelphia, Jan. 26, 1799)
The phrase 'Christian Tyranny' is being heard more often these days, much to the objection of the Christian Community. This objection is due to; The denial in some to even think a Christian is capable of such a horrific act; By some in their attempt to deflect it away from their cause; But for most, it is simply ignorance of a definition in relation to the depth of the term, keeping them from understand its actual meaning. This later point, unfortunately keeps people from properly connecting the dots.
The phrase 'Christian Tyranny' comes about and is accurate for many reasons. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 it is written; "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" There are many Church Leaders and Christian Politicians who fall into this category of deceivers, far to many to say just a few. They know what they are doing and many Christians know what they are doing, and people are following them anyways.
Most Christians will simply tell me; "They don't represent true Christians" or "Not all Christians are that way". I agree on both counts, but they are what represents Christianity as a whole, simply because of their high visibility. The silence of those who are Good Christians, elevate the bad ones to a higher position. This is because of their claim to speak for all the people of their faith, and since no one stands up to say otherwise; They must! It's a simple form of transference; The good look bad 'cause the bad are the predominant figures you encounter on the world stage.
To those Catholics who are cleaning out their house... I give a double kudos for their remarkable efforts! All Christians should take note of this point, because the true moral leader of the world is a healthy society. 'Organized Religions' will profess to be the moral leader, but it was 'Organized Religion' that brought us the Crusades, the Inquisition, Slavery, etcetera and their motivation was the usual; Power and Greed. They did not stop these atrocities until the moral outrage of a society became loud enough to threaten their very existence, and the worst of them were defrocked. As history has shows us, 'Organized Religion' will always follow the dictates of an outraged society out of the fear of losing its power over the masses.
Once in line with society, 'Organized Religion' becomes a very good drummer boy for people to get in step with; That is, until the next time the power merchants gain control and this very long cycle comes around again to be dealt with. Always remember, some people will follow a defecating bull, and these are the ones the power merchants start with.
Currently there is an individual who has pumped billions of dollars in breeding the current crop of power merchants. Don't bother following the money, as it has been laundered through so many corporate organizations it is difficult, tho not impossible to do. But... peoples names can't be laundered quite as easily. Look for 'Right Wing Christian Republicans' whose names match as Corporate Directors on multiple nice sounding Christian Organizations, and you will quickly find the source. Now, you can follow the money trail with great ease.
The source of this current problem is by 'Biblical Definition', an 'Anti-Christ'. You will find all the proof you need to back up this statement in Congressional Records and the Justice Department files.
Here is were the tyranny part comes in; If an organized group of people intimidate another through threats or acts violence, then they have acted out in a tyrannical way. Doctors, Nurses and Lay Workers have been intimidated through threats and acts violence, causing some to quit their jobs and others to not even consider entering the profession. The acts of violence were committed exclusively by those of the Christian Faith, with the sole intent of forcing their view point on others through these acts. They were Christian and this is Tyranny; Thus... 'Christian Tyranny' is an appropriate phrase.
It is how language works, and to twist it any other way is to deny the reality of the depth of this monstrous crime. Another form of 'Christian Tyranny' is displayed on 'Sound Byte Media' every day by these so called 'Right Wing Christian Conservatives'. They shout down the guests who don't agree with their 'Political Orientation' by twisting their words around until they break, and then start with a 'Mocking Monkey' routine intended to humiliate the guest into submission. Then the rest of the pack jumps on the target and starts to repetitively utter the same humiliating words, until they damage a good persons reputation as far as they can. This by the way, was the same methodology Hitler and Thugs used to gain control over German Politics.
Good Christians are simply not tending to the Reputation of Christianity and until the silence is broken, I must consider it to be a Religion of 'Do as I say, not as I do'. In other words; The Christian Religion is leading by the bad actions of a few, while the good Christians are speaking good words. Good words mixed with bad actions only breeds contempt, not respect.
Nota Bene:This article could very well be written about any organized group structure, whether religious or political in nature, as it is a human grouping issue dealing with arrogance of superiority, greed and power. It is an issue wear a few bad apples tend to spoil the whole pie, no matter how good the cause or members are.
