Thursday, December 26, 2013

Jesus hates unions and wants the poor to starve

Amanda Marcotte of Alternet, in an article reprinted by Salon lists five ways in which the Fundies twist the message of Jesus to push conservatism. Fundies don't just convince believers to vote against their own economic interests (the gays are gonna git you!) but also create theological arguments to justify their actions.

1. In spite of that "loaves and fishes" thing that fed 5000 people, Jesus is portrayed as an aggressive capitalist with no regard to dignity and human rights. The biblical support for the claim? Well it's in there somewhere.

2. The story about the vineyard owner hiring more employees throughout the day is used to claim that workers should never try to better their working situation. Which means Jesus hates unions.

3. The verse about those who don't work shall not eat, though taken out of context, is used to justify the end of food stamps. Jesus wants poor people to starve. Never mind all those verses that command the rich to sell all their possessions and give the money to the poor.

4. Preservation of religious freedom, and accompanying victim complex, allows corporations to get into an employee's private business. This is the Hobby Lobby case before the Supremes about banning contraceptives from the corporate medical plans.

5. Protecting the environment to avoid climate change means not trusting God. If the climate warms up it means God wants it to. We wouldn't want anything to get in the way of corporate profits.

Religion is dangerous to politics because religion can be whatever the believer wants it to be. And that's an area that has nothing to do with logic.

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