Christianity, American Style

In America, you're supposed to proclaim Christianity, but actually living by the words of Christ - that's right out.

Compare Luke 6:35:

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 -- Luke 6:35.

To the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas:

How Many tsunami-dead Swedes are fags & dykes? vacationing on their fat expendable incomes without kids to bother with and spend money on? With respect to each of these earthquake-dead perverts: "He shall be buried with the burial of an ass." Jer. 22:19

Compare Many statements in Matthew:

Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy."

Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God."

Mathew 5:39: " But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whoever shall smite thee on thy right check, turn to him the other cheek also."

Mathew 5: 44: " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and curse you."

Mathew 6:14" "If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

To Jerry Falwell on Wolf Blitzer:

If it takes 10 years, let's blow them all away in the name of the Lord.

Funny how the message of the popular so-called "Christians" stands in sharp contrast to the message of Christ, no?

In the current culture, using Christ's name while proclaiming the opposite of his message is rewarded with fame and power. But for those who try to live Christ's message of peace instead of death, things get a little rocky:

U.S. Marine Cpl. Joel D. Klimkewicz says he's willing to clear land mines [emphasis added] and risk his life for his country.

He's just not willing to pick up a gun.

...

"I couldn't see Jesus Christ taking human life," said Klimkewicz in a phone interview from the Camp LeJeune military prison. "In my faith, what I believe is that we're all citizens of heaven. Citizens of heaven are of all nations, and I refuse to take a life of a fellow citizen of heaven."

This month, a Marine Corps court sentenced 24-year-old Klimkewicz -- a combat engineer who is a member of a Seventh-day Adventist Church -- to seven months behind bars for refusing an order to pick up a weapon for training. He received a reduction in rank to private and a bad conduct discharge.

The Moral?
It's best to just call yourself a Christian. Acting like one could get you into trouble.

Luckily, not everyone who believes Christ's message of peace and love has been punished. ...Yet.

From Patrick M. Tighe:
...
The only way women and men move themselves to kill, I believe, is by first attempting to erase the image of themselves, and more importantly, the image of God, in the person whom they seek to kill. If they are successful in blinding themselves to the person’s real nature and status—that of a child of God, whom Christ is utterly present in—then killing becomes possible. I have a profound faith that Christ never asks us to deny His presence. Killing requires such a denial of God, through whose grace all good things come.
...
Christ gave Himself up to death instead of causing more death. In this giving up, He defeated death. I cannot, and will not, dishonor God by futilely trying to make His Son’s sacrifice meaningless. I will follow His path to life which leads away from killing. A Christian cannot bring death because Christ brought only life. I am a Christian before anything else. I, too, will bring only life. I shall not kill.