R A N D O M   R A N T S ARE REPUBLICAN CHRISTIANS REALLY FOLLOWING JESUS? Jesus says we should put our weapons away. Republican leaders invariably increase the annual military budget and, they vehemently oppose any type of sane gun control. Even though nations with gun control laws have far less murders and mass shootings per capita than we do here in the United States. Does this sound like anything Jesus would do? Jesus says we should be helpful and kind to immigrants. Republican leaders have been indescribably horrible towards immigrants, endorsing a president who separated children from their parents by many hundreds of miles; locking children up in filthy, disease-ridden cages here in the U.S. while deporting their weeping parents so far away, the majority have yet to be re-united. Most of these immigrants applied legally for asylum. This now ex-president at one of his rallies called these poor immigrants fleeing rape, other violence, kidnapping and murder, "rapists" and "thieves" and then he added "they're animals", as the crowd roared loudly in approval. His cruel legacy of Title 42 lingers on under a new president, as Republican appointed judges rule against eliminating it. Is this what Jesus would want? Jesus says that a common grass flower is clothed greater than Solomon in all his glory, spoken at a time when environmental concern and respect wasn’t even on the public radar. Today, Republicans go out of their way to continue to mass pollute the environment of our children's future. The last Republican president tried to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency. They argue against global warming, while ignoring the fact that pollution is very bad for people. This in spite of the absolutely indisputable medical facts that pollution is very, very harmful to every living thing on earth and in particular, our own children, the animals and plants we consume and the soil we grow our food in. Pollution harms the brain, liver, kidneys, lungs, heart and is the number one killer on earth. It kills more people annually, according to the World Health Organization, than heart disease, cancer, malaria, vehicle accidents, murder or any other single thing. Would Jesus approve of this? Jesus never mentions the unborn but frequently talks about helping the sick, poor, marginalized and oppressed who are already born. Republicans claim to care about the unborn, but vote for Republican leaders who could care less about the already born (see above and below). In fact, if one set out to deliberately harm the already born, they would have to try really hard to beat Republican leaders at doing so. Republican leaders have done everything in their power to try and take away healthcare from over 20 million poor Americans, without offering any alternative plan. They have tried to reduce funding for affordable housing and school lunches for poor children and their rarely stated ultimate goal is to eliminate social security, Medicare and Medicaid. Would Jesus endorse this kind of agenda? As anyone can see and read for yourself in the first four books of the New Testament, The Republican Party supports the opposite of pretty much everything Jesus said or did. And speaking of agendas, Jesus says "blessed are the poor" and "woe unto you who are rich." The Republican Party has no agenda other than to gain and stay in power and, to lower taxes on and pass policies to help the already wealthy. Is it more than fair to say it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a Republican to follow Jesus? One might ask, is this really an exaggeration and too harsh to be actually true? Sorry, but what is noted here is only a small taste of the rotten apple. And if you read the words and deeds of Jesus for yourself, you will discover how vehemently in-your-face and disgusted Jesus is with religious leaders who promote the opposite of his good news for the common people, poor and oppressed. And finally, it may disparage some but bring comfort to many others to know that there was no such position as "preacher" in the real New Testament churches, which were not buildings or religious organizations but rather, groups of people. Modern preachers who yell and shout and wave their arms while pouring out a boring sermon one can barely manage to sit through, are non-existent anywhere in the Bible. Click Here to Go Back to Contents Click Here to eMail the Author Copyright © by Richard Aberdeen.  Copyright © by Freedom Tracks Records. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher and signed by the author. For inquiries, please contact Freedom Tracks Records.  The essays entitled Revolution and Revolution ~ Side B are open copyright and may be reproduced and distributed as desired.