It seems that since the time of Constantine the Great (272-337 AD), someone has tried to make Christianity a national religion. And it went from being persecuted to being a persecutor for being believed and then for those who didn’t believe(!).
Now our “Evangelical” Christians are wanting to make Christianity the leading national religion. They seem determined to want to make laws that will see to it that every American does what they consider Christian. And they’re pushing this because they say they want religious freedom. They seem to think that if it’s not recognized legally it won’t be able to exist, that Christians are being persecuted here for being Christians, when all it seems is really happening is that they are not getting laws passed that they want.
They want abortion to be illegal, guns to be everywhere, harsh penalties for criminals, minimum welfare for people (fellow citizens) in need, restrictions on immigrants (especially of other religions), work requirements for those on welfare (back to poor farms?) and think Donald Trump is quite all right.
When Jesus Christ walked the Earth, were these the things He wanted? Was He worried about electing Himself for political office? Did He have campaigns to make swords more available or poor people cast aside because they seemed lazy? Was He happy that people were miserable, that it was their “just rewards” for “not going to synagogue enough or burning enough offerings”? Did He think Herod was a great guy, or the religious leaders of the day examples of perfectly orthodox believers? Did He tell HIs followers to “get out there and make everyone come to my meetings — or else? Did He make His followers punish those who didn’t believe in Him? In other words, where are the “Christlike” beliefs coming from? The Bible?
Anyone in this country can read the Bible and any good book they want to. And anyone can read the Bible to verify for themselves what Christians should be believing about Jesus Christ. Let the people who call themselves Christians prove it — Biblically — that this is what Jesus Christ was like and taught.
Revelation 22 tells us how this all turns out. It’s very clear. And if nobody believes it, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Galatians 5 and 6 is for believers (just one example of what we should know and believe today.) Knowing even just that should clarify a lot about the racket today that’s being called Christian.
Cheryl Lovely, Presque Isle, Maine
Editor Notes: We prefer Jesus’s own words, reported in Matthew 25, often summarized as, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto me.”
I have enjoyed your fine newspaper for many years and I’ve always looked forward to the next edition. But since the election of Donald Trump (love him or hate him), I’ve noticed that TPP has joined the incessant drumbeat to impeach the president. It’s sad to see what I considered to be an open-minded and progressive newspaper turn into a mouthpiece for the floundering Democratic National Committee. Would everything really be so much better under madam president and her Clinton Foundation? Please ...
I’ve often wondered why the Democratic National Committee refused to release their servers to the FBI after claiming they had been hacked ... Doesn’t really make sense, unless ...
As to the Mueller investigation, could someone please tell us all what clear evidence has been uncovered over the past 16 months that conclusively reveals that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia? We’ve all been waiting for quite some time. Pray, do tell.
I do not support many of Donald Trump’s policies. Especially those that allow corporations to continue to pollute our land and water. The war against clean water and clean air continues unabated, regardless of who is president. Our stupid wars in faraway lands continue, regardless of who is president.
TPP’s clear bias against any and all things Donald Trump makes it just another rescue effort for a badly crippled DNC whose only real message is that Donald Trump is bad and must go. Never mind about the clear collusion that took place in the 2016 Democratic primaries and the thousands of voters who were given “provisional ballots” and truly disenfranchised. Never mind that President Obama said our elections could never be rigged and that Trump should quit whining. Never mind that our country has helped rig many elections elsewhere in the past. Never mind that no clear proof has been found of Trump/Russia collusion. That’s okay, let’s just keep looking, to hell with all the other issues that desperately need our attention.
My only wish is that opposing viewpoints could once again talk with each other respectfully and without derision. And learn something from each other in the process. As Stephen Stills once wrote, “If everyone’s talking and no one is listening, how can we decide?” God bless America and each and every one of us. Respectful communication is our only hope.
Gardner Hathaway, Asheville, N.C.
In the 5/15/18 TPP, Bob Burnett needed to delve further in his article, “Another Look at Trump Supporters.” nnBurnett states that “Trump supporters have no confidence in government to fix their problems.” So how in the world do they then want the government to force a pregnant woman with life threatening health problems to carry to full term?
They want children who belong to religious minorities to he indoctrinated by a religious majority at the direction of the government in public schools!
These same people want the government to spend other peoples’ tax money to fund their religious institutions. It is obvious that the Christian Nationalists have no values nor principles; in my opinion, they do not behave in a Christian manner. It is therefore not surprising that they politically support Donald Trump, a person with no morals nor dignity!
Stephen Landuyt, Quincy, Ill.
I would like to echo Frank L. Schneider’s view in his 4/15/18 letter, “Students and Gun Violence,” encouraging students to register and vote. My generation’s protest efforts during the Vietnam era were often thwarted because most of us were under 21 and could not vote until 1972, when the 26th Amendment took effect [lowering the voting age to 18]. No vote meant no voice. President Nixon called us “bums.”
But many of these new young marchers do — or soon will — have the vote at age 18. I would urge them to use this power in every election at every level of government from the school board on up.
And yes, keep marching!
Betty Crowder, Honeydew, Calif.
Jim Sawyer gets the Academy Award in my opinion [“Stormy Interview Just a Start,” 5/15/18 Letters], but all the letters are spot on. Sawyer mentions Yemen, which most Americans couldn’t find on a map. Don’t ask me why, but the following came to what passes for my mind. When I was a toddler my mother took me on the street-car into Pittsburgh to see the hit movie Bambi. The unforgettable lines I’ve never forgotten: Bambi’s father finds him wounded (his mother already dead from an NRA bullet) and says “Up Bambi, Up! You must get up! Man has come into the forest!” Around 30 years or so later I and friends sat in a movie theatre and heard these words: “Ben, I’ve just one word of advice for you: Plastics!” Ben’s uncle in The Graduate. Fifty years or so have passed, the oceans are killing whales with plastic, millions of Yemenis are killed, wounded or starving with U. S. weapons, an idiot occupies the Blight House, and registered Communists are still not allowed to vote in the primaries. God bless Amerika.
Bernard J. Berg, Easton, Pa.
In the election of 1876 between Democrat Samuel J. Tilden of New York and Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, Tilden won the popular vote by 250,000 (4% points). Hays carried the electoral college by 4 votes. Three southern states fought over the certification of their electors. So Congress created an electorial commission. Five senators, five congressmen and two from the supreme court. They all voted their party line. A constitutional crisis was avoided, but at a price.
Shortly after Hayes took office the order was given to withdraw federal troops from the South and Reconstruction was ended.
In the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Bush got 271 electoral votes to Gore’s 266. Gore won the popular vote by 543,895 (0.5% points). Then we had the Iraq war justified by weapons of mass destruction that were not there.
Then we had the 2016 election, with Trump getting 306 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton’s 232. Clinton won the popular vote by 2,898,786 (2.1% points). You think there might be something wrong with the electoral college system?
Martin Resnick, Pawtucket, R.I.
We know the five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. Well, the Earth is dying and we are only in denial. We see the signs of global warming’s damage to the planet — three once-in-500-year floods in Houston, 2015, 2016 and 2017; multi-year drought in the Middle East resulting in huge numbers of refugees migrating in search of food; melting of glaciers and ice caps already causing coastal flooding—but we deny there is a problem because our lives can go on as normal (for now).
Corporations know the end is coming, but they have to go on with business as usual because their shareholders expect it; meanwhile 60% of our vehicles sold are gas-guzzling SUVs and light trucks, doing even more damage, not less. … The Paris Climate Accord was signed by 196 countries, yet none has gone far enough in reducing emissions to make a difference — China and India continue to build coal-fired power plants that will keep them from reducing their carbon dioxide emissions until 2030.
We knew this was coming 40 years ago, but merely stayed in denial. We don’t have much time left — it’s time for anger and taking strong action to stop this disaster from occurring.
Lee Knohl, Evanston Ill.
From The Progressive Populist, June 15, 2018
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