Posted by
John Cord on Sunday, January 18, 2009 9:58:11 PM
The God of Abraham is the Way, Truth and Life of the Spirit of Selfless Love over selfishness. The Koran repeatedly instructs Muslims to honor the teachings of Jesus. Jews believe that Jesus was a great teacher. Christianity claims it represents the teachings of Jesus. Astonishingly, these Abrahamic religions deny Jesus' central and most-obvious revelation about the Bible's Message. He tells us that the entirety of the Bible ('all the law and the prophets') boils down to the First Greatest Commandment—to love God (Spirit of Selfless Love) before all else. He then gives us the Second Greatest Commandment—to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Corporate Christianity has lied to its masses for so long that there is no shortage of Christians who relentlessly insist that the Bible's Message is not ultimately about personifying the Spirit of Selfless Love (Spirit of God and Christ), but about being a member of Corporate Christianity by submitting to the empty, dead ritual of saying "I believe in Jesus as my Savior." These multitudes of Christians who deny The Way of Goodness (God-ness) for the religious ritual of Christ-confession are idolaters of Christ or Christ-idolaters. They draw a proverbial line in the sand over the ritual of confession, judging only their kind to Heaven and, by default, judging the world's non-Christians (over two-thirds of humanity) to hell.
To Christ-idolaters, the way to Heaven has nothing to do with one's character, but is entirely about being a Christ-confessor, joining Club Christianity. Even though Christ Himself tells us that confessing His name does not guarantee Heaven and even though Christ Himself tells us that He would rather we be heretics who pour out Selfless Love upon the world rather than priests and religionists who do not, the world's Christ-idolaters remain as staunch as ever, judging billions of people to hell for not being "Christians."
The Bible's Message has absolutely nothing to do with one's religion, but everything to do with one's character giving life to God or producing the fruits of Selfless Love. Judaism, Christianity and Islam have nothing to do with the Bible in the sense that they have failed the God of Abraham miserably by their denial of His Selfless Spirit for their greater love of separatist (holier-than-thou), fearful, superstitious, idolatrous, mystery-laden religion.
I hope Obama succeeds, wishing him no ill will. We saw how both he and McCain repeatedly confessed their belief in Jesus as Savior to win the presidency, because, let's face it, neither would have been seriously considered for the job had they been non-Christian. Obama represents "change," but evidently not from the most important change America needs, which is to DUMP Corporate Christianity's centuries of extraordinarily selfish or false religion and LIFT Christ's Way that does not care about one's religion (or lack of), but one's character alive and growing in Selfless Love over selfishness.
Just never, ever forget that the moment Obama puts his hand on the Bible he denies its clear instruction that above all things we humans are not swear upon the Bible or anything. The very book he swears upon tells him not to!
James 5:12
12. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
We are instructed not to swear upon anything but to make our "yes" YES and our "no" NO, meaning that we are to tell the truth. Swearing upon the Bible in courts, churches and inaugurations is no assurance that the swearer will be a truth-teller and lover of the Good (God) Spirit. Swearing upon the Bible is an empty ritual and pure superstition. When will humans put away such childish toys and step up to The Way of the Spirit that knows no superstition and mystery? It is too bad that when Obama is ready to put his hand upon the Bible we will not hear him say to the world, "The Bible instructs us not to swear upon the Bible or anything, but to be truthful, and so I shall not swear upon anything this day or ever, but conduct truth."
"…the President-elect will invoke the spirit of his predecessor when he takes office next week. The new President will be sworn in using a Bible owned by the man widely considered America's greatest leader (referring to Abraham Lincoln). Mr Obama is an avid student of the nation's 16th president, who like Obama was little-known outside Illinois before winning election. The 44th president-to-be requested that he take the oath of office with one hand on the velvet-bound, gold-trimmed book that is normally stored in the Library of Congress."
Obama was an avid student of Lincoln? Too bad he did not have a similar interest in Biblical scripture. Obama waits to swear upon the Bible, but not just any Bible. It is by his request that he is going to swear upon Abraham Lincoln's Bible. Criminy. Will using Lincoln's Bible make the event "holier" than if he had put his hand on a generic Bible? How "holy" is any of this religious hoopla infecting the United States Presidential Inauguration when, in fact, the Holy Bible instructs us NOT to do such things?
And why all this Lincoln love? Was it Obama's repeated confession in his belief in Abraham Lincoln that led him to win the presidency or was it his repeated confession in Jesus Christ? The latter, of course, as he would not have been a viable candidate without being a Christian. So why does Obama seek to fuse his image with Abraham Lincoln's during his inauguration while turning his back upon the Bible's Message about oath-taking?
"The President-elect is committed to holding an inauguration that celebrates America's unity, and the use of this historic bible will provide a powerful connection to our common past and common heritage" (Emmett Beliveau, director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee).
The only "common past and common heritage" with Obama's using Lincoln's Bible is that the United States government now, as back in Lincoln's time, remains a slave to superstitious, mystery-building Christian dogma that is easily proven false. Is this all about "unity," really? Is it unifying when Corporate Christianity notoriously abuses the Bible to judge only its members to Heaven and all non-Christians to hell? Is it unifying to build a world of homophobia? Is it unifying to judge women needing abortions as "murderers?" Is it unifying to have some inaugural "holy" invocation given by one of the greatest false prophets and Christ-idolaters on the planet, megapreacher Rick Warren?
Why all this Lincoln-obsession coloring Obama's inauguration? You would think Obama would cut a new, fresh path instead of glomming onto old, dead Lincoln. It does not make sense to me and seems a bit creepy. Are we to think that Obama is some sort of "resurrection" of Lincoln? The cynical side of me thinks that this forceful fusing of Obama's image with Lincoln is entirely for image-marketing and legacy-building even before he has worked one day as president. The Obama-Lincoln image fusion is quite literal in this artist's rendering: http://animalnewyork.com/news/2008/06/ron-english-emancipates-barack.php.
When shall there ever rise a Christian leader who will not submit to the lies of Corporate Christianity?
For more about Selfless Spirit, Selfish Ego go to John Cord's website at www.johncord.com.