Monday, May 30, 2011

Confessions of A Former Southern Baptist, Liberty University Trained Pastor

I've often described the Christian Taliban in America as a clear and present danger to the rule of law and the continued governance of the nation under the U. S. Constitution. The Christiaists' goal is a theocracy with themselves in charge and where everyone else must be stomped under the Christianinists jackboot. Thus, it is interesting to hear a former Southern Baptist pastor who was trained at Jerry Falwell's lunatic Liberty University echo the sentiment. After being expelled from ministry for getting a divorce, Jason Childs had a come to Jesus moment and he came to see that the version of Jesus being peddled by Falwell, et al, is a pretty foul and nasty piece of work. Unfortunately, too few in the media are brave enough to call the Christianists out for what they are. He has a piece at AlterNet that looks at his conversion story. Here are highlights:
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I was a Liberty University-trained evangelical pastor. I was sure that I was right and that every other person not of my faith was going to burn in hell forever. I was taught that we as Christians should take this nation back, only to find out later that we never had it to begin with.
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After five years of teaching this homophobic, divisive message that has hurt so many millions of people in our world, I went through a divorce. The Southern Baptist Convention will not let you remain in the ministry after a divorce, so I had to think of something else to do with my life.
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I did see America, and the country I saw was very different from the one I was taught about by Jerry Falwell and my mentors at Florida Bible College. What I found was that this nation is filled with people from all walks of life, and from every different culture. I met thousands of people, from the beautiful forests of Washington state to the bayous of Louisiana. I found that these folks are not the wicked sinners I was taught about.
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I want you to know that the fundamentalist political movement is the beginning of a cultural revolution that will take our nation to a very dark place. You have to understand that this has been methodically planned and is being carried out with the utmost vigilance. In accordance with their worldview, my old friends do not in the least care about what you think. They are against democracy, and they are seeking to end the rule of the majority in our great country.
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They truly believe that if you have not been “saved,” you are living under a curse and are incapable of knowing what is best and that because of this you should be ruled over.
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While we watch the revolutions across the Middle East, we are seeing a great truth: that people have within them the natural desire to be free. It is so sad that as the people of the world are fighting for freedom, we here in the United States are going in the opposite direction. The far right, under the control of fundamentalists, is declaring an all-out war on human progress.
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As has been the case with religious zealots over the centuries, they are a root cause of human misery and have the blood of countless millions on their hands. They need to be stopped and identified for their treasonous behavior. The ridiculous deference and special rights given to the Christian Right needs to end now. Today we honor those who gave their lives for the United States. We cannot stand by while others engage in what can only be described as sedition against the U. S. Constitution.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Good for Mr. Childs for seeing the REAL light--the light of tolerance and compassion. It is never too late!