link collection, thoughts and musings

[tielan]

Reading up on Ralph Lawrence Carr, Republican governor of Colorado back in 1942 (for Reasons). Most noted for standing up against (Democrat) FDR's institution of the Japanese Internment camps with this speech before Colorado farmers:

But the Japanese are protected by the same Constitution that protects us. An American citizen of Japanese descent has the same rights as any other citizen.... If you harm them, you must first harm me. I was brought up in small towns where I knew the shame and dishonor of race hatred. I grew to despise it because it threatened [pointing to various audience members] the happiness of you and you and you.

It's believed that speaking out cost him his political career.

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Some links I've been collecting over the last couple of weeks.

Being White Isn't An Identity, It's Just What You Ought To Be.

Lessons from Jews: What To Do About Trump

Stephen Hawking says it's a Dangerous Time When We Can Destroy The Planet But Not Escape It.

I think the thing that Hawking misses completely is that even if we could escape it, we'd only take our humanity - both the bad and the good - with us.

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A little dark humour: For POC, the non-straight, and non-Christian, America died on November 8th, 2016. For white Evangelicals, however, it was just Tuesday.

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I admit, I'm liking a lot of what John Pavlovitz has to say about Christianity generally, but American Christianity specifically.

Jesus Is Just Alt-Right: Resisting A Racist Messiah

There was a boggling twitter post the other day, about how Jesus would be a 'responsible gun owner'. Are you freaking kidding me? Matt 26:53 - Jesus don't need none of your guns, baby! God's angels beats man's weapons every time.

(Yes, Jesus would be a responsible everything because he's Jesus. However, he would also be a responsible protester, a responsible voter, and a responsible defender of the weak, powerless, and vulnerable. Which Pavlovitz covers here in the article The Activist Heart Of Jesus.

The screenshot of the next twitter on the feed of the 'Jesus, responsible gun owner' guy said something about 'he would be a capitalist'. And I am LE BOGGLE. "Harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," "One more thing you must do, sell all you have and give it to the poor..." "Birds have their nests and the creatures of the field their burrows, but the son of Man has no place to lay his head..."

American 'Christianity', man. AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY.

(Not saying the Australian church is perfect, btw. This isn't a competition to who's the more godly - see Rom 3:23.)

Brief laugh: my sister asked the other night, "Are there any Christians in America?" To which I answered, "MEOW."

Jesus never aspired to political or worldly power - in fact, Satan offers him worldly power and Jesus says "Yeah, NOPE." When the crowds of the day aspired him to lead a rebellion against the Roman government at the time, he got the heck outta dodge. He repeatedly told the disciples that he hadn't come to establish a kingdom of earth but the kingdom of heaven.

I've already given my thoughts on the modern temptation of western Christianity to put their faith in worldly politics and political machines.

Comments

[copracat]

Thank you for the links.

[tielan]

I hope they're good for thinky thoughts.

[copracat]

Mostly it's a comfort. Due to upbringing my ethics are mostly Christian ethics so while I would call myself only culturally Catholic, it's been more and more distressing to see the only public Christians being US "Christians" or Cory Bernardi/Tony Abbot "Christians" or those appalling oiks, the Australian "Christian" Lobby. Sarcasm quotes most certainly intended but also, as you reflect in your ramble, camel! eye of needle! OMG!

[beatrice_otter]

Amen.