Francis and Obama Both Pack Punches: Blasphemy, Cable TV Pundits, Climate Change, and ... Gay Marriage

Pope Francis (en route to the Philippines):

"If my good friend Dr. Gasbarri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch," Francis said half-jokingly, throwing a mock punch his way. "It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."

Obama (State Of The Union):

As Americans, we respect human dignity... It’s why we speak out against the deplorable anti-Semitism that has resurfaced in certain parts of the world. It’s why we continue to reject offensive stereotypes of Muslims — the vast majority of whom share our commitment to peace.

Pope Francis (Catholic News Service):

Pope Francis went on to say that the "family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life."

Obama:

I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in ten Americans call home.

In The Ring

Both President Obama and Pope Francis threw punches at various times on a variety of subjects, the only difference of opinion being in that of gay marriage: Pope Francis called it a harmful "ideological colonization" while Obama referred to it as a civil right.

Other punches were delivered to blasphemy (Francis), to cable news pundits (Obama) and to climate change deniers (both Francis and Obama), but it was on the issue of gay marriage that the two differed visably. And while both have been a visible thorn in the Right's ideology (esp. the Christian Right), Francis ameliorated his poor standing with the statement about the family being threatened by efforts of redefinition of marriage. On his part, Obama widened the wound to marriage equality foes who are still not willing to believe that 70% of America is ready for gay marriage.

The who-am-I-to-judge pope definitely delivered a punch to gay marriage. The Christian Right will be making handstands and hay with the statement for months to come, especially before the Supreme Court hears four cases from states banning such. They have been hoping for such a statement ever since their meeting with the pope last November. Trust amicus briefs from Catholic sources to mention it.

Obama also countered anti-gay activists by saying, in effect, that 36 states following the rulings of the federal courts couldn't be wrong. The petulant 14, (the worst being Florida, Texas and Mississippi) are in the minority and, civil rights-wise, we've seen that scenario before.

Maybe It's Just Another Matter Of Evolution

Like Barack Obama's views on same-sex marriage, will Francis' views evolve? Possibly, but the extent to which he will enforce those views on the Catholic Church (and hence, most of Christendom) is the key. And that might take a longer time than the evolution of his thoughts on the subject. In other words, America might find itself with another problem in the culture wars: being pitted against the rest of the world's religious beliefs. It is, already, of course, but the gap may widen and become impassable - that is, if people like Tony Perkins and Scott Lively have anything to say about it. 

Think of Uganda.

Love Makes A Family

With his statement, Francis reduces the love between two men or two women. He glorifies love within the traditional family makeup, while lessening his famous "who am I to judge" statement.
In his State of the Union address, however, Barack Obama elevates same-sex love and puts it on a par with "traditional values." 

He recognizes that love makes a family. 

If You Don't Give Enough, You Go To Hell! An Extreme Take On Francis' Game Of Monopoly

Could it work?

In the game of life, as in Monopoly, there are penalties and consequences.

The man who knows 

he has enough

is rich.

                                                              - Lao Tsu (Confucius)

The pain of Fancis and his social justice philosophy runs deep in the Right's backside. You might even say it's downright hemorrhoidal. Of course, Francis has never intended to be a pain in anyone's rear, but his economics and quest for compassion have caused shock waves among the high and mighty of capitalism.

       "One truth shines out from the Bible: Jesus spoke to the individual, never to government or government policy. Jesus was a capitalist, preaching personal responsibility, not a socialist."

Yes, that bit of eschatology was from World Net Daily trying to prove that Jesus was against redistribution of wealth. Unfortunately, WND never touches upon the quandary of a rich man, a camel and the eye of a needle. They never talk about the poor inheriting the kingdom of heaven. They may covertly grieve over the wealthy man being asked to give all of his worldly goods to follow Jesus.  And capitalism's cheer leaders routinely neglect to site an important passage from Acts of the Apostles:

       "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.

There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles,

There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. . ." (emphasis mine)

Of course, Karl Marx wrote it instead of Luke, so it certainly can't be in any sense Scripture. In fact, a husband (Ananais) and wife (Saphirra) were struck dead because they lied about their greed. Nope, can't possibly be Scripture.




Joel Watts (Huffington Post)

"Jon Moseley, a Tea Party member, declares Jesus Christ is a capitalist. He writes against Pope Francis's Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel. Jon sells vacation packages to the Bahamas. The Holy Father is a trained theologian, chemist, and philosopher who is the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church standing in the line of St. Peter. One of these is not like the other. Which is why I was surprised with the Holy Father started to sell vacation packages, er, I mean when Moseley started to spout off against the pope's theological position."

Mandating Compassion Through Scripture

There are many reasons the Right's Christian Right gives for one's soul going to hell, but being rich isn't one of them. Even greed isn't given the status of other "Hell and Damnation" sins which today are Abortion and Homosexuality. Theft and murder are even given short shrift (both can be justified and easily repented, unless you're in Texas). Greed? Greed is a sin, to be sure, but it's never been touted as serious enough to send one to eternal damnation. A Wall Street denizen might be thought of as evil, but if he donates money to a university, he can't be all bad - it exonerates him in a way. Al Capone founded a successful school milk program in Chicago, so he couldn't be as greedy as everyone thought, right? So greed as a sin is, ah, somewhere down the line. Anyway, if it's capitalism, it's not greed. 

But what if greed were made one of the uppermost "Hell and Damnation" sins? What if any semblance of greed were to be treated as a capital crime, eschatologically speaking? What if Biblical exhortations against greed were, like the Ten Commandments, enshrined in public places? What if religious leaders like Francis were to make it more than just a "deadly" (meaning harmful) sin and make it THE road to hell? What if wanting more than enough ostracized one from the community, like wearing a large letter "G"?

Enough Is Not Enough 

The road to greed lies in having enough but wanting more. Of course "enough" is relative simply because our needs are relative. "Enough" can be rationalized out of existence: a man can have "enough" after he has secured substantial livelihoods for his family, or financial security for the rest of his life, or ... anything capitalism can bring. And another conundrum: how do you determine what "enough" is when it involves a person who just can't get "enough"? 

Of course, we live in a country where "enough" rarely exists. America's 1% has proven that: prosperity preachers abound, televangelists travel in private jets, bishops build "retirement" mansions. Politicians have off-shore investments, sports gods have vast estates, movie stars have hi-tech villas. If "enough" really existed, Beverly Hills would not. 

Go To Hell: Greed Is The Definitive Sin

Making Greed the definitive sin is, of course, a ridiculous dream since it is impossible in our world. Demonizing greed to extinction just can't be done. Sure, it's always fun to think of greedy people being emptied of their wealth and made equal and forced to admit to what is really "enough." But greater compassion, greater charity, and greater financial equilibrium are not impossible. 

Francis is opening our eyes to the fact that his variation of Monopoly may in fact be the "Game of Life." 

The Ugly Christians (According To Francis). Who Are They? How Are They Grinching Christmas For The Poor?

The Season Of Getting, Part One

“when you see a Christian who doesn’t want to humble himself, who doesn’t want to serve, a Christian who struts about everywhere: it’s ugly, eh? That is not a Christian: that’s a pagan!”

Pope Francis I has again riled the Christian Right by, in effect, calling most of its leaders "ugly" and "pagan": those who crave the limelight, scream out their proselytizing (ahem, "evangelizing") yet purport to be persecuted (horrendously!) by godless liberals and the media. It was a slap in the face to televangelists, faith-healers, prosperity gospel preachers and righteously arrogant, supposedly "Christian" apologists and pundits. It was his own "War on Christmas" - the Christmas created by corporate/church greed, a Season of Getting as much as one can while Giving very, very little to the people who need help just to survive.

Some Uglies




Ann Coulter - While not a born-again Christian, nor explicitly proselytizing her jaws off, Coulter has enough righteous arrogance to sink a flotilla of battleships. After a particularly testy interview with Donny Deutsch, she said, "Well, we just want to perfect you!" Deutsch is Jewish. He was not amused.





Rick Warren - Hawaiian shirts aside, Warren is as fake as can be, coming up with fantastic schemes (e.g. P.E.A.C.E,) which few can grasp the meaning of, and constantly touting the miracles of social justice his plans and his church (megachurch Saddleback) have worked both here and abroad (esp. in Uganda). The figures, however, are based on few reliable sources and don't really add up. His publicity machine is about the only thing that seems to exist.




Tony Perkins - Perkins has had more appearances on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" than the show wants to admit. As the Savior of the American Family, Perkins has reigned as a sort of Christofascist king, looking like an innocent, aging choir boy. But he is merely a boy crying wolf (against dreaded homosexual activists) and his pronouncements about apostate Republicans terrorize few Republicans any more. His "Values Voter Summit" is popular with any conservative who wants to say "God told me to run."



Cindy Jacobs - If Francis could make a list of the ugliest and most chest-beating Christians, "prophetess" Cindy Jacobs would be most certainly at the top. Among other things, she has (according to herself and her husband) performed more miracles than Jesus Christ, has cured a woman of her hysterectomy, has raised children from the dead (via television) and is an avowed idol-smasher (Native American artifacts and statues of Catholic Saints). She has also told all of America's indigenous people to repent for the sins of their ancestors. She has bragged about how many things God has blessed her with. Unfortunately, fashion sense was not one of them.





"Bishop" Eddie Long - For sheer humility, have yourself wrapped in the Torah, declared "king" (of something) and have yourself hoisted up, sitting on a throne, while four men decorously parade you around your church. Sheer humility? No, sheer stupidity. Sex scandals just could not keep him out of the limelight.

Some Plug-Uglies



Bryan Fischer - Fischer is the American Family Association bloviator who has a hate-love relationship with everyone (he broadcasts his demonizing points, then tells everyone he is really doing it because he loves them). He has, in fact, carried demonizing to an art form (very ugly art, but art nonetheless) and his faux humility is legendary. He has established himself as a one-man hate group against the LGBT community and insists that "Rambo Jesus" existed.




Terry Jones - When not causing anti-American murder and violence by threatening to burn the Koran, Pastor Jones manages to plummet to the lowest levels of the humility meter by bleating through a bull horn about his Christianity in places like Times Square. He shares the sobriquet of "most hated man in America" with Fred Phelps. Not a small feat.




Scott Lively - Of all the uglies, Lively portrays himself as the most innocent and clueless. He has parlayed thunderous criticism of his book, The Pink Swastika into international Christian martyrdom and has portrayed himself as the most knowledgeable person on the planet in regards to the evils of homosexuality. His purposeful undermining of LGBT rights in places like Uganda has landed him in court. The charge: crimes against humanity.

Dishonorable Mentions

Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, FOX News, Michele Bachmann, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, Franklin Graham, Ken Copeland, T.D. Jakes, Linda Harvey, Janet Porter, Rick Joyner, C. Peter Wagner, General Boykin. If your favorite "uglies" are not on the list, just mention them below in comments. 

Pay Attention To ME! Not The Poor!

Perhaps the ugliest of recent "Christians"/pagans passed away last week: Paul Crouch of Trinity Broadcasting Network, who perched himself on a gold throne-like chair and told those who opposed his empire to go to hell. He spread his wealth only to his family, there being no evidence of any substantial endowments to the less fortunate. He was considered a con man who put himself and his wife Jan first and foremost. The word "humility" was never in his lexicon. It was perhaps his death (and life) that inspired Francis to make his "ugly" point.

Putting yourself before the poor, before your fellow man, humbling yourself to seek out and tend to those in need was the humility Francis was speaking about: focusing on the poor and not yourself.

And as to this particular Christmas Season, the Huckabees, Coulters, Palins and Warrens know that it is not the Season for Giving but for Getting ... attention.

The ugly Christians will be getting uglier ... against Francis. Just wait.

The Perfect Puppet: Brand New Pope, Same Old Papacy. Benedict Gets His Way.

 Emeritus Rules

There will be no talk of liberation theology.

There will be no talk of human rights.

There will be no talk of women as clergy.

There will be no talk of transparency. 

Change is slow in Catholicism, but with the election of Jorge Bergoglio, the papacy, is at a standstill: there will be no transparency, no change in the direction that Benedict set forth: the new pope will simply be an adjunct of the old pope and the papacy is doomed to become an anachronism in a time when it could become a force for change. It sounds hopeless because it is hopeless: only a drastic shift in direction regarding issues such as women in the clergy, gay rights, celibacy, Vatican finances, and child sexual abuse could help the papacy survive in the 21st century. 

The Smokescreen Of  Differences

The Vatican is, however, eager to point out that Francis could not be more different than Benedict: The first pope from the Americas, the first pope to be Jesuit, the first Francis. He was a scientist, not a theologian. He was the most "pastoral" of prelates, stressing evangelism rather than simply adhering to doctrine. And his no-frills lifestyle will certainly eschew the Prada shoes, striking fear in the hearts of some cardinals who are used to the trappings of Catholicism's upper eschelons. And the Vatican needs a facelift - badly. And who cares if it's only superficial? Whether or not he extends that frugality and that "pastoral goodness" to the Vatican financial empire, however, remains to be seen. 

Waiting in the wings

Since Bergoglio received the second most votes in the conclave that chose Ratzinger, it is evident that the cardinals are sticking with the same ideologies ... and to Ratzinger's lead. Conspiracy theorists might conjecture that Bergoglio has known for quite some time that he would be pope after Ratzinger. Ratzinger certainly appointed enough cardinals to cement the deal. And Ratzinger might have considered Bergoglio's age and health: better get him into the papacy now, while he can reign for the number of years required to keep the ubiquitous of cover-ups and secrecy sustained. Ratzinger's conservatism needed time to regroup and strengthen itself, and it got that time with Bergoglio. 

Piety Or Pretense?

While Bergoglio has often chided fellow prelates as being "Pharisees" - people who congratulate themselves while condemning others - his noted work in the slums and with the poor is at odds with the lack of political stance he might have taken against the dictators of Argentina. He admits to not adhering to liberation theology, an ideology that gives backbone to work with the poor and pure altruism. And while he cites Jesus' dining with outcasts and prostitutes, his views of homosexuality (especially in terms of gay adoption) led Argentinian President Christian Fernandez to compare his tone to "medieval times and The Inquisition." 

Sound like anyone we know?

The Most Positive Response - The Right Wing Has It

The Christian Right is thrilled: the status quo of the Vatican on issues of abortion, contraception and gay rights has been kept and it can breathe a sigh of relief. Mike Huckabee, Tony Perkins, Bryan Fischer and Pat Robertson can take heart that the Vatican is firmly in their corner on their issues. "Fie To The Liberal Demonspawn" is what they needed to counter the shift in attitudes, some coming from Catholics themselves. And while some sects and preachers have abused Catholicism (remember John Hagee's "whore of Babylon" sentiment?), they rejoice at having allies: numbers dwindling, they have no choice. 

And when inheriting Ratzinger's woes and scandals, Bergoglio might also look to allies from the big CR.