Hypocrisy

As a quick follow-up to my last post …

Scottie (@ Scottie’s Toy Box) in a recent comment compared church attendance to abortion – and wow! Did his remark ever hit home!

Christians will argue and stomp their feet and carry signs and march and threaten pregnant women at Planned Parenthood because they believe abortion is KILLING a human being.

BUT … they will gather in churches in large numbers to sing and worship their god … along with hugging their “brothers and sisters in the Lord.” While some may be wearing a mask, there are many who aren’t simply because they support a president who denies the seriousness of the current pandemic.  AND who they believe is “god-anointed.”

In other words, they seem to think it’s OK to threaten the lives of human beings who, by all acceptable standards, are moving and alive with functioning brains — yet they throw a hissy fit if a woman chooses to have an abortion.

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy in action?

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PLEASE NOTE: This post is NOT meant as a take-off point for abortion arguments, so please refrain from any comments/arguments related to same. I have a post waiting in the wings that I will publish one of these days on the topic — and once I do, the floor will be open. If anyone chooses to ignore this request, I will be forced to remove your remarks. Thanks for your cooperation!

Higher Power?

“We answer to a higher power.”

This is the defense that church leaders offer as California Governor Gavin Newsom (once again) puts restrictions on indoor church services because of the pernicious increase in COVID-19 cases.

Yup. As discussed in one of my earlier posts, the churches are once again complaining that they should be exempt from any and all limitations related to their services.

As most of my readers know, I’m adamantly against any “special privileges” by Christians.

And yes, believers, I’m well aware that the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”

The BIG difference is NO ONE is PROHIBITING the free exercise thereof. The powers-that-be are simply ruling that you don’t do your “free exercise” within the confines of a church building. And this ruling is backed by medical and health professionals that know far more about what’s best for Christians (and heathens alike) than any church leader.

But let’s go back to the first line of this post: “We answer to a higher power.”

No doubt this references the Christian God which no one (outside of bible fables) has ever seen or heard — contrary to the claims of believers who are certain they heard God “speak” to them during occasional moments of prayer. Or on those occasions when they desperately wanted their god to move on their behalf and “he” answered.

However, lucid and rational-thinking individuals –the ones who endorse the old saying seeing is believing– tend to utter “hogwash!” to these celestial claims.

The ONLY “higher power” that has been proven to exist are those neurons and protons that exist within one’s physical brain.

In other words, complaining pastors, it’s all in your head!

The hard truth is these church leaders are fearful of losing their source of income … and they will use whatever tactics/excuses/reasons they can come up with to justify their need.

It’s just too bad that those who are in other lines of work cannot use the same excuse to vindicate their (very real) needs during this pandemic.

Here is a question that continues to gnaw at me and no pastor who complains about “religious rights” has been able to answer: Why has this “higher power” allowed so many to die from a virus that, supposedly, “He” could have prevented?

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References:

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2020/november/ca-church-goes-to-court-facing-350-000-fines-despite-zero-covid-cases

https://lc.org/newsroom/details/20201125dragging-the-ca-gov-to-the-supreme-court (Notice the request for donations at the end of the article.)

ReBlog: Hopefully the last letter to my Senators about Trump

A letter for the ages!

Ends and Beginnings

I know this email is a waste of time, but it makes me feel better writing it. For the last four years you have supported, shielded, defended, and turned a blind eye to a man and an administration that has encouraged hate, racism, and division. A man and an administration that has mocked and disregarded the standards and norms of the office of President and the Constitution. A man and an administration that has put their own self-interest above the interest, safety, and security of American citizens. A man and an administration that is trying to disregard the will of the people and steal the election which is nothing less than an attempted coup d’état. Fortunately for America, Trump and his henchmen and henchwomen are just as inapt and ineffective as he was at being President.

It appears that Trump’s “plan” (which will be the first plan he has had…

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Five to Four

As many of you have probably heard or read by now, the U.S. Supreme Court just gave Religion a vote of confidence. Of course, for many of us, this comes as no surprise since we knew Ms. Amy Coney Barrett was going to be an influencing factor in church/state decisions.

However, what was surprising – and gratifying – is that Chief Justice John Roberts took a much more egalitarian approach to the issue. A good sign, hopefully, of things to come … although we should never get too confident.

The entire matter is addressed in this article.

Beyond the fact the decision favored the churches in this case, I found the overall reasoning lacking in so many ways. It was Justice Neil Gorsuch’s comments, in particular, that really stood out to me.

He noted that other businesses, such as bicycle repair shops, did not have similar restrictions and went on to say:  … “according to the Governor [of New York], it may be unsafe to go to church, but it is always fine to pick up another bottle of wine or shop for a new bike.”

Does anyone else see the fallacy in this reasoning? How many people does it take to pick up a bottle of wine … or shop for a new bike? How many people might be in one of these businesses at any given time? 3? 4? Especially during the pandemic shutdown. From my perspective, it’s hard to imagine a liquor store or a bike shop ever having 25+ people on the premises at any one time – which is the lower end of the restricted number for church gatherings.

And this comment by the Rabbi involved in the case is also mind-boggling: “This landmark decision will ensure that religious practices and religious institutions will be protected from government edicts that do not treat religion with the respect demanded by the Constitution.”

DEMANDED BY THE CONSTITUTION??!!?

Finally, IMO, this remark by Chief Justice Roberts summed things up — and should have been the most compelling of all:

“It is a significant matter to override determinations made by public health officials concerning what is necessary for public safety in the midst of a deadly pandemic.”

Yet five justices of the Supreme Court did just that.

What Say You?

As most people know, the outcome of the recent presidential election isn’t really in doubt, yet Dear Leader continues to dispute the results.

No news there.

But the question becomes:  Will he … can he … succeed in his efforts? Or will he FINALLY go down in defeat?

According to Politico, in order for Trump to overcome election results, some unprecedented legal steps would be required.

• Republican-led legislatures in states Biden won would need to move to overturn their state’s popular vote and appoint a slate of Trump electors when the Electoral College meets on Dec. 14.
• Since such maneuvers would be certain to meet vetoes from Democratic governors, the lawmakers would also need to secure a legal determination that they hold the sole power to appoint electors — a disputed legal premise that has never been tested.

Both actions are considered long shots; however, as most of us know, Trump is desperate.

So what say you?

No sure? Perhaps try consulting your crystal ball. Or do a bit of ommmm and see what the universe says. Or … I know! Ask your Republican neighbor!

Or better yet, make an educated guess.