Love Your Enemies, Do Good to Them Which Hate You...

Normblog contemplates George W. Bush's assurance that he is the Arm of the Lord:

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | George Bush: 'God told me to end the tyranny in Iraq' : Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did."

And writes:

normblog : Whether George Bush actually said what he was reported on the front page of the Guardian as having said seems to be in some doubt now. But, whatever the case, there it was on the front page - as also of the Independent - and yesterday the Guardian readership was following up. It's a case of shock and mock, isn't it (the headlining and then the quips)?

What's behind it? Is it just that, for secular liberals and leftists, all those invoking a line to, or about, God in decisions and actions in the public realm, with far-reaching effects on others, are to be seen as laughable, grotesque, or worse? I guess that must be it...

There seems to be one very important thing that Normblog doesn't understand. The God of the Christians does not believe that one should deal with one's enemies by using fuel-air explosives and M1 Abrams tanks to wage wars that cause massive collateral damage. What does the God of the Christians believe? Let's turn over the mike:

Luke 6:27 ff.: I say unto you which hear, "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

"For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

Comments

[Rasselas]

Man, that Jesus character is really preachy.

[Alison Kemper]

You are so right you made me cry.

There's no smiting left to be done. It's over now. Has been for millenia.

God says, "Just say no to smiting." God is so cross with W.

[Alison]

You are so right you made me cry.

There's no smiting left to be done. It's over now. Has been for millenia.

God says, "Just say no to smiting." God is so cross with W.

[Stoffel]

I forget who brought it up (it might have been on Street Prophets), but the examples we know of where God talks to us in the bible, He doesn't ask us to do something that we were going to do anyway and would make us more popular and our friends richer and avenge acts against our fathers. No, He tells us to do the things we'd rather not. Yet somehow--when God talks to crusaders--He always seems to reinforce their predilections. Interesting, that.

[Ereshkigal]

Kurt Vonnegut appeared on the 7 October 2005 edition of PBS's NOW. During the interview, he withdrew a piece of paper from his pocket and started to read out loud, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Vonnegut ackowledged that the work he was citing "wasn't original" to him, finished the list, and said to host David Brancaccio,"That doesn't sound like the Republican Party platform."

John B. Wolf, misiter emeritus at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, used to distinguish between the religion OF Jesus, and the religion ABOUT Jesus. It's pretty easy to tell which side of that distinction is occupied by the Christian Right.

George is no Christian; he's a lazy idolator.

[Dubblblind]

And as to Bush's domestic policy:

Matthew 25:42-45

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

[Oskar Shapley]

That's because you people have never met Supply-Side Jesus.

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/09/17_franken.html

[Ginger Yellow]

"Is it just that, for secular liberals and leftists, all those invoking a line to, or about, God in decisions and actions in the public realm, with far-reaching effects on others, are to be seen as laughable, grotesque, or worse?"

Um, Norm, it's people saying "God told me to..." who are seen as laughable and grotesque. Don't you find it laughable?

[tjallen]

I've suggested for 20+ years that the Left could take away the religious card of the Right by simply quoting the real words of Jesus! I was a voice in the wilderness, preparing the way....

Blessed are the meek, the poor; love your enemies, The Good Samaritan, give him your cloak as well, turn the other cheek, the Golden Rule, etc etc etc. The Right's fundamentaists are so Old Testament, eye for eye, they have not yet accepted Jesus in their lives!

And I'm supposedly an atheist...

[Todd Derscheid]

Normblog also doesn't allow comments, so he's wrong about two things.